Thankful Thursday: Entomology 101

I did it....I took the plunge. I told my 8 year old that he could sign up for Entomology for his first year of 4-H.

Entomology - according to the Wikipedia, is the study of insects.

Yes, bugs.

Creepy Crawlies.

Heebie Jeebies.

Whatever you want to call them.

Thankful Thursday: Little boys are made of.....

Puppy dog tails and lizard tails and.......

How I love my boys! Mud, dust, worms, bugs, dogs, and......so much more!

Thankful Thursday: We have puppies!

The first litter arrived this morning - Jackaus puppies (Jack Russell/Australian Shepherd).

Squirrel and Bugs think this is almost as good as Christmas morning!

Stay tuned for more details!

Thankful Thursday: Boys and Their Chicks

It's mother's purgative to brag about her children. Especially her young men and their new chicks.

Seriously, what mother wouldn't want to brag when their kids want to bring home chicks like this?

What mother can resist a face like this with a chick this cute?

Thankful Thursdays: Smoky Quartz

Call me callous.

Call me vain.

Call me materialistic.

But I have an obsession.

 I'm addicted to smoky quartz jewelry.

It's not my fault.....I was born to wear the color brown and love the color brown. Seventy-five percent of my clothing has brown tones. And now my jewels have brown tones.

Thanks to my mother-in-law.

Twice a year, she & my father-in-law go to Bozeman, Montana for Simmental board meetings. Each time she is there, she visits this great little shop in downtown Bozeman - Benjie's. All she ever talks about is the jewelry at Benjie's. The great deals. The beautiful stones. The one-of-a-kind settings.

A year ago, she asked me if there was anything I wanted. Brown - any kind of brown stone. Earrings, rings, pendants......I'm not picky.

This is what she came home with a year ago this past fall. My favorite - a smoky quartz ring.  I love it almost as much as I love my husband, my first born and my second born.

Thankful Thursdays: Puppies

Puppies, puppies and more puppies.

Get your orders in now.

Not only one litter of puppies due in April, but two.

Yes, TWO litters of puppies.

And yes, we are crazy, insane, nuts, whatever you want to call it!

Meet the father - Tiger. He's an Australian Shepherd.

Good worker - especially with cattle.

Thankful Thursdays: Quick Inspirations

I'm a collector.....a quote collector that is. I collect random quotes, inspirational quotes, humorous quotes and quotes about life in general. I see quotes as more than just words on paper.

I often find I refer to my quotes when I need a little inspiration or a little jolt of motivation or little infinite wisdom. I often find myself reciting my quotes to my children.

I thought I'd share a few of my favorite quotes.

"A woman is like a tea bag - you never know how strong she is until she gets in hot water." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt








"I have a simple philosophy. Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. And scratch where it itches." ~ Alice Roosevelt Longworth

"Farming looks might easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field." ~ Dwight Eisenhower










"Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." ~ Dr. Seuss

"The man who complains about the way the ball bounces is likely the one who dropped it." ~ Lou Holtz






Link up and share your favorite quotes on this edition of Thankful Thursdays.
Jill

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Thankful Thursdays

Foster Parents


This week at Harker Simmentals, we are thankful for foster parents. It has been a rough week. We don't like to have baby calves that don't have mommas. The best milk they can get is their mother's milk. But when their mother's aren't able to do the job, we step in....as foster mothers.

One momma cow dried up.


No more milk.


Gone.


Nada, nothing.


So, her heifer calf became orphan #1.


Met Violet.


And met Violet's foster parents - Squirrel and Bugs.

The other momma, well, she's batting 0 for 2. A year ago, I had a post about Sweet Pea. Sweet Pea's story


Her momma didn't want her.


Her momma tried to kill her.


So, Squirrel and Bugs took her under their wing and memories were made. But, Harker Simmentals likes to give animals mother "one more try".

Well, yesterday, Sweet Pea's mother calved again. Only a few words can describe what happened yesterday.


Disaster.


Repeat.


Near death experience.


Repeat.


Yet again, she didn't want her calf. To avoid any injury to the calf, my hubby pulled him from his mother and gave Violet a play mate.


Ladies and gentlemen, meet Bubba.


Met Bubba's foster parents - Squirrel and Bugs.

Violet.


Bubba.


Now Squirrel and Bugs don't have to argue over who gets to feed the calf because they each have one to feed.


I have never seen two little boys in heaven.


Pure bliss.


Excitement.


More memories.


They are already talking about giving them bathes and chasing them around the barn and loving them and haltering breaking them.....just like a couple of mothers talking about their children.


This is what life is all about.


Violet and Bubba.


The small, simple things in life.....being a foster parent.

Jill

Thankful Thursdays

Fiften years ago this week........

It was a chilly Sunday afternoon and So and I had gone home to my parents house to celebrate my sister's birthday. Dad was outside grilling steaks and my sister and I were helping my mom prepare lunch. So went out to help dad with grilling and struck up a "man conversation".


Withint 10 minutes, So and my dad popped back in the house. So made sure my mom and sister were in the kitchen and he kneeled down on one knee and popped the question.....


No, he didn't ask me if I'd me if I'd cook and clean and keep his house for him!


He asked me to become his wife. And the rest is history.

I still remember the day we went shopping for a wedding ring.


I still remember the day he asked me to marry him.


I still remember our honeymoon. We drove to Montana and stayed in six different hotels during our drive to and from the Big Sky state. I still remember asking So if we had "handicap" written on our foreheads. Of the six hotels we lounged at, we were give four handicap rooms!!!




I still remember the day I told I was expecting. And I remember the day we brought Bugs home from the hospital. It was the same day we started building our house.


I still remember the day I told him I was expecting, again. And I vividly remember cussing him that day for the baby would be due the week of our annual production sale. I also remember the day we brought Squirrel home from the hospital - a week before our production sale.


Memories.


Lots and lots of memories with my So.


I'm so thankful for those memories....fifteen years of memories and plenty more to come.


Jill

Don't forget to link up!

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Thankful Thursdays

When I grow up....

I want to be just like my grandma Topsy. The woman's talents with a needle and thread are unlimited. She has been sewing for sixty years. In fact, last month at the age of 91, she replaced the motor in her sewing machine and without the assistance of a man! Go grandma!!

The Happy Birthday Wall Hanging

Her creativity knows no limits.



John Deere Wall Hanging

Farm, home, seasonal.....wall hangings of any kind.



Christmas Quilt

 Blankets, table runners, placemats..........

Star Quilt

Clothing, sweatshirts, and my favorite thing...



Feed Me Beef Bibs

her bibs!!!! My children lived in these bibs, of course, that is because I LOVE BEEF!

(Had to get my line in since it is Beef Month.)

I hope I can sew like Topsy some day. Oh.....and if you are interested in bibs or table runners, contact me. Grandma loves sewing and would gladly make and sell her items!

Make sure you link up to Thankful Thursdays!

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Thankful Thursdays

Have you thanked a livestock farmer today?

Most farmers have two seasons...planting and harvest. Those farmers would be called grain farmers. They have long hours during planting season and during harvest season with a little down time in between. There's a different kind of farmer who doesn't get much down town...the livestock farmer.

 This is the time of the year when I am in awe of how giving and selfless my husband is. From mid-December through mid- April, it's all about his "girls".  He has 117 momma cows that will calve between now and late April. That's 117 bouncing bull and heifer calves to care for, 234 mouths to feed, and 234 piles of cow droppings to move in the spring. If you think an infant is demanding, try taking care of a cow and her new born calf. No one is more protective of a newborn than a cow!



This cow calved over the weekend. She's 14 years old. Good ole #25!

 The physical exertion it takes to work outside from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. each day is unmeasurable. Imagine taking care of that cow in 7 degree weather, in a 20 mile per hour wind, with wind chills 15 below zero, all the while dressed in about 20 lbs of winter clothing and boots and in knee deep mud. Few of our beloved critics (yes, this is in reference to PETA and HSUS), realize just how devoted, dedicated and giving a livestock farmer is.

There are evenings when my SO eats supper and is asleep in the lazy boy by 7:30 p.m. He's physically and some days emotionally and mentally exhausted. For example, yesterday he moved a cow and her new born calf to the barn...but he moved them with the skid loader. Momma didn't like her baby being messed with and my SO didn't want a trip to the ER, so he jumped in the skidloader, quickly, with lightning fast movements, laid the calf in the bucket of the skid loader, jumped in and move to the barn. Of course, momma was hot on his trail the entire time but they got to spend the entire evening in a fresh pen of straw with a roof over their heads.




Feeding cows silage. My husband grinds silage every day.  These are due to calve in February.

 Then there is last year's success story...Sweet Pea. Her mother didn't want her, so Squirrel and Bugs adopted her until another mother cow was able to adopt her. Despite the frustrations and extra work my husband went through to keep Sweet Pea, the joy two little boys experienced having a bottle calf far outweighed the work. Sweet Pea is now an official member of the family!



Nothing more exciting that getting a three day old calf to walk up and check you out!

 As you sit down at your supper table or lay your head down to sleep, say a little prayer for the livestock farmer. He or she could use a little extra boost to get them through the next few months and don't forget to say "Thank you" the next time you see one!


Don't ya just want to come give me a big ole hug!



Thankful Thursdays

Cousins...so fun and enjoyable. Great to make memories with. Great for laughter, wrestling, and chaos. Can't wait for the fourth one to enjoy the rest of the weasel rats next Christmas!

Have a blessed and Merry Christmas!!

Thankful Thursdays

This Thursday's edition is short, sweet and to the point. I'm thankful for medications and babies!

I'm  in the midst of my second two week long sinus infection in seven months. I'm tired of my head aching. I'm tired of blowing my nose and looking like Rudolph's stable girl.  I'm tired of my face hurting. (Save the jokes...I've heard "your face is killing me" one too many times this week!)  I'm now on my second antibiotic & it's working! So, I'm thankful for the simple things this week...like Cipro. Whomever developed this drug, thank you!

Oh...and one last tidbit...I'm going to be AUNT JILL again!!!!!

Thankful Thursdays

My history.

"Some people believe that without history, our lives amount to nothing. At some point we all have to choose: do we fall back on what we know, or do we step forward to something new? It's hard not to be haunted by our past. Our history is what shapes us...what guides us. Our history resurfaces time after time after time. So we have to remember sometimes the most important history is the history we're making today." ~ Meredith Grey, Grey's Anatomy

That quote moves me. It makes me realize that, no matter how far in the past, how significant, how moving, that the history of my life is a thing of the past. Yes, it has shaped me and molded me into the individual that I am.

My history started the day my grandfather, Dorris Harrold, bought me my first Angus heifer. I was all of one day old. He knew what life lessons I could learn by being a cattle woman. He had done the exact same thing for my mother and guided her through ten years of 4-H. More importantly, he and my grandmother, Mildred Harrold, instill in both my mother and I the life skills that made us confident, independent, strong willed individuals.




Dorris Harrold with two Angus steers - circa mid 1960s





Sharon Harrold Sommers with Roscoe in August of 1968

 As I raise my own children, I now realize how much my history has shaped who I am and who I want my children to be. But as I dwell on the events of the past weekend, I realize that my pride and joy is no longer in the history that shaped me, it is now in the history that I am making today...the history of my children.



Luke & Lucy at the 2010 Hoosier Beef Congress

 Luke is the 8th generation of my family to be a member of the American Angus Association and owner of Angus cattle. I can trace it back to my great, great, great, great grandfather, Alexander Cook. He brought Angus cattle from Scotland to Indiana. He's the fourth generation to show and exhibit cattle. However, as you can tell from the photos above, irregardless of the breed, we just love being involved with the beef cattle industry. So I encourage you...look into your history and see how it shaped you but more importantly make some history today!

P.S. Yes, I have been on a month long hiatus from blogging. What happened? Life - that's what happened. Cattle shows, head colds, family trips, and the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Stay tuned for more!

Thankful Thursdays

On this Thursday, Veterans Day, I am thankful for my freedom. Nothing seems more appropriate than to post the words to the famous song that has been echoed by Mr. Lee Greenwood so many times.

Proud to Be An American

If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,

And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.

I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,

‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where as least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,

across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,

Well, there’s pride in every American heart,

and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.

And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.

And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.

‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A



Thanful Thursdays

A Smile

It is one of the cheapest gifts we can give one another.

Smile...because you are happy.

Smile...because you feel like it.

Smile...because it might make someone's day a little brighter.

 

Smile...because it will make you feel good.

 

A smile costs nothing but creates much. It happens in a flash, but the memory of it lasts forever.

It cannot be begged, borrowed or stolen, but it is of no earthly good to anyone until it is given away.

When God created us, he gave us the ability to smile.

Be thankful you can smile.

And give one away today!!