Family Farm Friday #40: It's In Your Blood

“There are two lasting bequests we can give our children: One is roots, the other is wings.” ~Hodding Carter

My parents love me. But they get sort of impatient when our phone conversation goes some what like this:

Me: "Hey, I need a favor."
Dad: "Oh crap."
Me: "I need some pictures of ____ for the blog."
Mom: "We aren't just at your beck and call. We have other things going on you know."
Me: "Like what? You're retired."
Mom: "Grrr."
Dad: "Well is it for Family Farm Friday?"
Me (knowing those are the only ones he reads): "Yes."
Dad: "Okay, I'll go look."
Mom: "Youl always do whatever she wants!"

In order to stop some of this animosity, I decided to go through photos while I was home for Christmas and pull some that I thought might be useful for future blogs.

When I sat down and went through the pictures, I realized that when I say that the family farm has been forever in my blood, I mean it. Since before I could walk there are pictures of me on horses, in front of tractors, feeding ewes and baby lambs....you name it. Here are just a few of my favorites....

1. This would be me and my dad and my horse, Baldy, who my dad bought for me when I was 6 months old.

2. I call this one "A girl, her dog, and a John Deere tractor."

3. This would be me and Cousin Whitney feeding my Mom's favorite ewe, Whisper.

4. Notice the same girl, the same dog, and what was probably my own bottle feeding the lamb.

5. At some point, a little brother came along and joined in the fun with the sheep.

6. Gran taking all of her grandikds on a picnic at the White House corrals.

I've said it before, and you'll probably hear me say it countless times again, but I honestly do not think that there is a better place to raise kids than on a farm. My childhood might not have been glamorous, but I'm here to tell you, it couldn't have been any better. The family farm is in my blood, and I couldn't be more grateful!