2016, Gone But Not Forgotten

2016 Top Ten Most Viewed Blog Posts

My Barnyard View

If you haven't read them, click on the post title and you'll be there.

10. P Is For Planting I planted corn for the first time in our nearly 33 years of marriage. Here is how planting is done, from a rookies point of view.

9. G Is For Greek Yogurt What's the difference between Greek yogurt and traditional yogurt? Also find out why I almost named this blog, "G is for Good Gosh, Why Do We Farm?"

8. T Is For Teeth and Trivia Do cows bite? I get this question a lot. I also share other cow trivia in this blog post.

7. F Is For Farmer John There is a familiar saying, "If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life." I believe this is Farmer John's motto.

6. X, Y, Z, All Done After blogging every day during June Dairy Month, and as June Dairy Month draws to a close, I hope you have come to realize how passionate my family and I are about the farming lifestyle we live. I also included the top ten reasons I love dairy.

5. L Is For Local Did you know that milk travels from my farm to a grocery store within 48 hours? Also, I share how you can find out where the milk you buy comes from.

4. D Is For Dairy3ForMe A letter to Fair Oaks Elementary where I shared my story of life on a dairy farm to 437 students and their teachers. What is Dairy3ForMe and what did the students pledge to do?

3. I Is For Ice Cream (With Topping and History) I share a bit of family history about Farmer John's grandparents who farmed, and also Grandma Schaar's Butter Pecan Sauce recipe. Yummy!

2. Miss America, The Farm Girl I was invited to attend a gathering to meet Miss America 2016 Betty Cantrell as she visited a local dairy farm. She's a farm girl too who shared her passion of "Healthy Children, Strong America."

1. Saying Goodbye To Mom I still cry each time I read this post. This was a tough year, as my Mom passed away just one week before I spent the next 14 days at the Minnesota State Fair fulfilling my duties as the State Dairy Princess Coordinator. Through the love and care from all of you, I  moved forward just as Mom would have wanted, as she also shared my dairy passion as a fellow farmer. It makes my heart smile to know that so many of you read my tribute to her, therefore putting this post as the most read of 2016. I am thankful to each of you!

Thank you for continuing to follow me and my family on our journey as we go through life as passionate and proud dairy farmers. 

PS- Have you checked out my other social media sites?

Saying Goodbye To Mom

My Mom passed away this week.  She has battled diabetes, stroke, heart attack, leg amputation, colon cancer, and many other health challenges, all in just the past three years. It is with love that I think of the phrase, "a cat having nine lives." If I'm counting correctly, this was her tenth hospital stay. 

Mom was a fighter. She was stubborn and she was strong. I rarely heard her complain about her physical challenges. She didn't talk about how things have changed, but rather about what she was doing to adapt to the changes.

Family was the most important part of her life. She was a great daughter and big sister,

 a loving wife and help-mate to my dad, Farmer Brown,

 

an encouraging Mom who taught us to replace, "I could..." with "I will..."

a wonderfully supportive Grandma,

 a special Great-Grandma,

and best of all, my friend. 

Because of what you taught me Mom, I will continue to change "I could" to "I will."

I shared this poem on my blog when my Dad passed away three years ago. It's a perfect fit for Mom as well. Love you Mom.

In Our Hearts

by Rose de Leon

We thought of you with love today,
But that is nothing new.
We thought about you yesterday.
And days before that too.
We think of you in silence.
We often speak your name.
Now all we have is memories.
And your picture in a frame.
Your memory is our keepsake.
With which we’ll never part.
God has you in his keeping.
We have you in our heart.

This And That Thursday -14

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to. 

Sara's butterhead, (on right)

Perhaps it's the bitterly cold weather today (-36 degree wind chill right now) or the fact that daughter Sara's friend just sent her this link, 20 Facts About the Minnesota State Fair That Might Shock You but I'm thinking about the Minnesota State Fair today. Check out shocking fact number 8, and while you're there how about numbers 4 and 7? Way to go Minnesota Dairy Farmers!

Some of my cow library.

Another warm weather story...I have been contacted by our local library to be a guest reader and presenter in June! Yes, June! Those librarians are pretty organized and are already preparing the summer schedule. Since June is Dairy Month, I'll be featured. Does anyone have a favorite farm/cow/dairy book to recommend?

DairyMom's 2012

Great  news- I have again been invited to serve as a mentor at the Midwest Dairy Dairy Moms Social Media workshop next month. This workshop is where I got my start in blogging back in 2012. Kansas City here I come!

More great news- My mom returned to her home this week! After 3 months in the hospital and transitional care she, and all of our family, are VERY HAPPY!

This and That Thursday - 7

A little bit of this and a little bit of that- here's what we've been up to. 

Yes, I get it. It is not Thursday. I know that. And yes, I know that I have not posted twice this week, as I usually do. But please forgive me as I update you on my faith, family, friends and farming.

Love and hugs to my mom

You may remember that my dad passed away in September. What I haven't shared with you is that exactly one month prior to my dad's passing, my mom suffered a stroke. She is a tiger and has been fighting fiercely to recover, but this past month an infection slowed her recovery and she is recovering in the hospital (damn diabetes). Please add her to your prayers as she continues her battle.

We are officially half-way finished with our corn harvest. We have 10,000 bushels of corn harvested, and drying in our storage bin. Two things are holding up our completion of the project- We have had three days of rain this week which does now allow combining to continue, and our supplier ran out of propane. Propane is used to fuel our corn drying facility. Without drying the stored corn, it will rot and not be usable to feed our animals. We are not-so-patiently waiting for a delivery.

This photo did not make the cut.

Speaking of patience...we are waiting to see when and who will be visiting our farm from the Show Your Pride contest. Which Minnesota Viking do you think it will be?

Meet Trudy. She is one of six new calves to join Bremer Farms this week, including a set of adorable, healthy twins from one of our favorite cows, Weezy. What a perfect treat for Halloween!

Learn more about farming and our dairy way of life at Dairy Makes Sense

A Crazy Coincidence

Today is National Quiche Lorraine Day. Today is also my mom's birthday, and here is where the crazy coincidence comes in...my mom's name is Lorraine! I know, crazy, right? The origin of Quiche Lorraine is in the rural Lorraine Region of France, which is where my Great Grandmother was born. Oh my gosh, the coincidences just keep coming! In honor of my mom's birthday (and National Quiche Lorraine Day) I thought I would share my Quiche Lorraine recipe. This recipe is from My recipes.com. I love that this delicious egg dish is filled with the dairy goodness of whipping cream and Swiss cheese. 

 

Quiche Lorraine

Ingredients

• 1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie crusts
• 8 bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces 
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese, divided
• 6 large eggs 
• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Preparation

1. Fit pie crust into a 9-inch pie plate according to package directions; fold edges under, and crimp.
2. Bake at 400° for 7 minutes; remove from oven.
3. Cook bacon pieces in a large skillet until crisp; drain on paper towels, and crumble. Sprinkle bacon, green onions, and 1 cup cheese into prepared crust.
4. Whisk together eggs and next 4 ingredients; pour mixture into crust, and sprinkle with remaining 1 cup cheese and nutmeg.
5. Bake at 350° for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes.

 

Happy birthday, mom! Love you!

Two Kids In A Candy Store

 

I felt like a kid this week. I played hooky! I tossed my responsibilities aside for a day, kidnapped my Mom, and took her on a surprise adventure.

Our first destination was Bass Lake Cheese in Somerset, Wisconsin. Bass Lake Cheese is a family owned and family run award-winning cheese factory owned by "Master Cheesemaker" Scott Erickson and his wife Julie. Bass Lake Cheese has a fun display of old dairy memorabilia as well as a large window to watch cheese-making. Sadly, they were not making cheese the day we were there.  We will just have to visit again. Like two kids in a candy store, Mom and I studied all the cheese cases, sampling several varieties, trying to make a decision on what kinds to take home with us. I decided to buy provolone and green olive cheddar, but the cranberry cheddar was tempting too. 

Following our cheese excursion, we traveled on to River Falls, Wisconsin, home of the Best Maid Cookie Factory. I guess you could say this was our second "candy store." Along with the factory, Best Maid has a wonderful retail outlet store with delicious cookies, that we HAD to sample. Chocolate chunk, oatmeal raisin, sugar cookies, the only thing missing was the cold glass of milk. Wow! Even while playing hooky I think about dairy. Once a farmer, always a farmer. 

After purchasing several cases of cookies, (Yes, I said cases. Hey, there was a sale!) we settled in for a good visit over lunch at a neighboring restaurant.  Mom and I had a great day. I never played hooky as a child. If this is what it's like, I might just do it again. What are you doing next Wednesday, Mom?

Mother's Day Thoughts

"Were you born in a barn?"  "Chew with your mouth closed. You look like a cow chewing her cud!"  "No use crying over spilt milk." These are some of the words of wisdom my mom shared with me as I was growing up. These pearls of wisdom all seemed to have a "rural" flavor, which seemed appropriate coming from my mom who lived on a farm most of her life. Where does she come up with this stuff? 
Now fast-forward to 2002. My son Michael presented me with a Mothers Day gift, Momisms by Cathy Hamilton. I see my Mom's words-to-live-by, right before my eyes. It was then that I realized that all Mom's eventually speak the same language. " I hope someday you have children just like you." " Don't talk with your mouth full." And, "Always wear clean underwear, in case you get in an accident."

" You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives." Not to worry Mom. I would have picked you anyway, Momisms, and all. Love you, Mom!