Day 23: The art of strategic small talk

I work at our local university.  My position has nothing to do with farming or agriculture.  Still, it seemed every day this past summer, someone asked me about our crops.

The drought was on every one's mind.

My understanding of farming is based more on science than tradition.  Since I didn't grow up on a farm, I didn't come into this life with preconceived notions of how things should operate based on how my dad did things.  Most of my foundational knowledge came from my undergraduate degree in agriculture education.  I was planning on being a high school agriculture teacher.  If only I had liked being around high schools kids...

The rest of my knowledge comes from asking my farmer a lot of questions.  Smart questions, dumb questions, and loads of 'why' questions that he patiently answers.

My background and his patience answering my questions has been great training for turning small talk into opportunities for agriculture advocacy.  Although the sizes may vary, we all have circles of influence.  It is my intention to be a source of farming information and a positive voice for agriculture within mine.  Small talk is just the beginning.

The art of strategic small talk - One  of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 7 other things I love about my life on the farm and 7 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day 1: Grandma Millie

Day 2: My clean car

Day 3: He's helped me be more flexible

Day 4: Our little church

Day 5: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker
Day 18: He's all about function
Day 19: He loves our NEW dog
Day 20: July and August
Day 21: He puts me in charge of fun
Day 22: He's industrious, even on holidays

Day 22: He's industrious, even on holidays

I love holidays.  I don't have to go into the office and even though I may check it, there is no expectation that I will respond to e-mail.  Holidays are truly days off for me.

Not my farmer.  When you work at home, I don't think you ever really take a day off.

This morning we got up pretty early.  I was working on yesterday's post and asked him to run down to his parent's to pick up our daughter.  He said no.  He had to clean the gutters and dig out a tree stump.

What?!  Don't you know it's a holiday?

When I got to his parent's, I discovered my father-in-law was working as well.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

My farmer finished his work by the time we had to leave for my parents'.  This afternoon, we added clean gutters and one less thing to mow around next summer to our list of things to be thankful for this holiday season.  

He's industrious, even on holidays - One  of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 8 other things I love about my life on the farm and 8 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day 1: Grandma Millie

Day 2: My clean car

Day 3: He's helped me be more flexible

Day 4: Our little church

Day 5: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker
Day 18: He's all about function
Day 19: He loves our NEW dog
Day 20: July and August
Day 21: He puts me in charge of fun

Day 21: He puts me in charge of fun

My farmer and I divide our labors based on our strengths.  He's really analytical so he gets tasks like insurance, financial planning, and fleet management.  Researching, negotiating, and purchasing vehicles bring him great joy.

I'm good at planning, organizing, and executing.  I get tasks like managing our schedules, organizing the garage, and laundry.  I'm also the fun one.  Just ask my friend Lynn.  I've told her about a million times. 

That puts me in charge of planning, organizing, and executing fun.  From nights in to nights out to concerts and time away from the farm, I'm the planner of fun.

And my farmer needs it.  He loves what he does and would probably do it 24/7, if he could.  But the older we get, the more we both have come to appreciate downtime and time away.  It gives us time to recharge and reflect. 

Having a fun eclectic group of friends makes it easy to recharge.  There is a 25 year age span among members of our group.  We're the babies.  I won't say who's at the top.  They certainly don't act their age:).

There's also a wide range of professions - farmers, seed salesmen, teachers, school secretaries, logisticians, small business owners, child care providers, dental hygienists, engineers, city workers, law enforcement officials, and payroll specialists.  We always have something to talk about and we always have a fun event planned.  There's something energizing about late nights spent laughing, dancing, and smiling.

Having family support so we can get away as a couple also helps tremendously.  My farmer and I try to spend a few days away without the kids each winter.  It's amazing how much easier it is to reflect on where we are and where we want to be personally and professionally when we're away from home.  Without that time away, I'm not sure either of us would devote the time necessary to this important task. 

On Monday my farmer came home and asked what we fun things we planned for the holiday weekend.  I told him I hadn't planned anything since I have a 15-page paper due in two weeks and I need to start it.  He gave me a strange look, as if I were dropping the ball.  Then he asked me to work some fun into the weekend. 

Done. 

He puts me in charge of fun - One  of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 9 other things I love about my life on the farm and 9 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day 1: Grandma Millie

Day 2: My clean car

Day 3: He's helped me be more flexible

Day 4: Our little church

Day 5: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker
Day 18: He's all about function
Day 19: He loves our NEW dog
Day 20: July and August

Day 20: July and August

My farmer and I dated for five years before we got married.  The entire time we lived 45 minutes to an hour apart. 

I didn't mind much.  We saw each other most weekends and talked on the phone during the week.  The distance allowed me to develop as an individual.  I got to make my own decisions and form my own friendships.  He was close enough to help in a crisis, but far enough away that I learned to be self-sufficient.

Our first month of marriage was an adjustment.  I had to get used to seeing him everyday in addition to sharing a home and the decisions that accompany every day life. 

And then he was gone.

We got married in March.  We probably had three or four weeks after our honeymoon before spring fieldwork started.  I didn't see him most of April, May, or the first couple weeks of June. 

During the day he was busy supporting his seed business customers.  He delivered corn and soybean seed to his farmer customers and helped plant plots to compare corn hybrid and soybean variety performance. At night, he was busy applying anhydrous ammonia to make sure the corn had the Nitrogen it needed to thrive from the start.  He was tilling the soil to prepare the fields for planting.  He was helping plant the crops. He was applying herbicides to eliminate weed competition with the crops.  And, back then, he was running the field cultivator alongside the growing corn plants to eliminate weed competition mechanically.    

Thirteen crops seasons later, I've realized our long-distance courtship prepared me well for his break neck spring and fall schedules.  In the spring and fall months (which are just as crazy), my job is to minimize unnecessary stress.  I take care of all kid and house stuff.  I try not to involve him day-to-day decisions unless it is absolutely necessary.  Like the spring I thought I put the spade through our gas line.  That was necessary.

I've also realized that July and August are my reward.  His schedule is much more flexible.  This allows us to travel on a whim, visit with faraway friends, and just enjoy the slower pace of summer.

July and August- One  of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 10 other things I love about my life on the farm and 10 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day 1: Grandma Millie

Day 2: My clean car

Day 3: He's helped me be more flexible

Day 4: Our little church

Day 5: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker
Day 18: He's all about function
Day 19: He loves our NEW dog

Day 19: He loves our NEW dog

My farmer prefers used dogs.  It's not an altruistic thing.  It's more an avoidance strategy.  He doesn't want to deal with the puppy stage.

Our first dog, Frank, was about nine months old when we found him at the shelter. He didn't chew on the house or dig, but he was a thief.  Sub-contractors helping with our house remodeling project quickly learned not to leave tools laying around.  He ate the cell phone of one of our dry wall laborers.  I felt pretty bad, but the guy was warned.

Frank started getting sick about eight months after we adopted him.  For the next few years he would get really sick, we'd give him a high dose of a steroid, then he would be better for a few months.

We lost him Thanksgiving weekend three years ago.  He passed at the vet clinic while I was at the chiropractor with the kids.  My son and I burst into tears.  My daughter, who was five at the time, shouted from the back seat, "When can we get another one?!"

The negotiations began and I won.  My farmer agreed that Santa could bring us a puppy.  My compromise was the name.  My farmer likes strong male names.  Meet Pete!

In three years, Pete has eaten our porch steps; eaten our air conditioner wires; eaten his dog house; eaten every type of critter that could venture into our yard; chased runners; chased bikers; spent unknown amounts of time at the neighbors; dug under my front porch; dug under my back porch, stolen little girls' flip flops, and hung himself over the kids' swing.

He's done all the pesky things that puppies do.  And my farmer loves him.

Who could resist that cute face?

He loves our NEW dog - One of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 11 other things I love about my life on the farm and 11 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day One: Grandma Millie

Day Two: My clean car

Day Three: He's helped me be more flexible

Day Four: Our little church

Day Five: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker
Day 18: He's all about function

Day 18: He's all about function

I love old stuff.  Not necessarily antiques, but old stuff that I can dust off and repurpose.

 

This oven was my first trash to treasure purchase.  It was pretty rusty when I bought it.  I cleaned it up, put a square glass pane on top, and used it as an end table.  My farmer was OK with it.  It was cheap and functional. 

When we moved to our farmhouse, I came home with three of these.  Not as cheap as my oven, but still functional and less expensive than traditional end tables.  He was OK with those, too.

Then I brought home a window.

 

And another window.

And I started repurposing windows from our house remodeling project.  He was a bit concerned about hanging heavy things on the walls, but he did it anyway.  After five, he suggested we had plenty of windows and mirrors and we didn't need anymore.

When I brought home this old toolbox, he told me I couldn't bring it in the house.  I did anyway.  It's great for storing craft supplies.

As long as my treasures are functional, he typically doesn't fight them too much.

 

However, this piece confounds him.  I found it at a trash to treasure sale.  Our last name starts with B.  The thing has a B on it.  It would look good hanging from a ribbon.  Perfect!

 

When he saw it, he wondered aloud why I had an old hog feeder cover hanging on our wall.  He added, "I hope you didn't pay for that."

He's all about function - One of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 12 other things I love about my life on the farm and 12 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day One: Grandma Millie

Day Two: My clean car

Day Three: He's helped me be more flexible

Day Four: Our little church

Day Five: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed
Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker

Day 17: He gives me permission to be a slacker

I have had a marathon month and a half.  I picked up a last minute consulting gig in Spain mid-October.

The quick trip, follow-up, my regular responsibilities, school work, house work, and kid stuff have left little downtime.

At 9:30 tonight when I told my farmer I need to write a blog post and that my brain was fried, he told me it was OK not to do it.  Unfortunately, I am a stickler for follow-through.  But I am going to make it short!

He gives me permission to be a slacker- One of the 30 reasons why I love being my farmer's wife.

Stay tuned for the 13 other things I love about my life on the farm and 13 more things that converted this Sycamore girl into a small town girl:).

And, check out my friend Holly's blog and the list of the other 30 day bloggers at 30 Days on a Prairie Farm.

Day One: Grandma Millie

Day Two: My clean car

Day Three: He's helped me be more flexible

Day Four: Our little church

Day Five: His servant heart

Day 6: Farmer humor

Day 7: The first weekend in December - friends, food, & Farm Bureau
Day 8: His fourth grade girlfriend

Day 9: A community that respects those who served
Day 10: He put up my squirrel house
Day 11: Pickup games

Day 12: He's a trend setter
Day 13: Our neighbor BFFs
Day 14: Gardens, farms, and golf courses, and knowing the difference
Day 15: Jam!
Day 16: Our multi-purpose shed