THE FARMING GAME

         Fall grandeur at ranch

         My granddaughter, Kira, has a game called “The Farming Game” that she loves to play. And she is good at it. In this game the participants buy and sell agricultural commodities such as hay, grain, beans, fruit, cows, pigs, sheep, etc. They can get loans from the bank, using some of their farm ground as collateral. They have to pay taxes, pay for equipment, face crop loss due to drought, hail, or other weather problems, and lose livestock because of illness or predators. They can increase their herds and buy more ground if a neighbor decides to down-size or go out of business.

            Kira is always trying to get someone to play this game with her. She has played so often that she seldom loses.  The problem with playing this game with Kira, or anyone else for that matter, is that it is so much like what we do every day that to us it isn’t much of a game.

            You should hear Kira groan when she has to sell some livestock or crop because she has an equipment breakdown, a payment due or an increased tax assessment. That groaning isn’t much different from the groans I hear when Boyd goes through his tax assessment every year, or some equipment breaks down at a crucial time.  If Kira lands on a place on the game board that tells her some of her crop has been destroyed by hail, she is not happy, might even cry. When Boyd looks over his crops after a hail or wind storm, he is not happy. Although he doesn’t cry I’m sure he feels like it.

            Each time a player passes a certain spot on the game board they collect a preset amount of money, kind of like in the Monopoly game. In the real game of farming, there doesn’t seem to be a set amount of money waiting when a cycle has been completed. In fact, many times there are more payments, more repairs, and more ways of draining money from the pocket. More reasons for groaning and crying.

            One thing the board game doesn’t show is the joy of watching the crops grow out in the field. When the first sprouts appear above the soil, it seems like a miracle. The birth of a baby animal is special and not experienced on the board game.

The smells of farming are also missing from this board game. Fresh mown hay is probably my favorite farm scent. Dirt being turned over in the field has its own special odor. Then there are the not so pleasant smells: manure, diesel, oil, and sweat.

            Another thing lacking in the farm game is the sound of farming: the crowing of the rooster at the first light of the morning; the lowing of contented cows; the whinny of the horses as they race each other up and down the pasture; the mooing of the baby calves. There’s also the sound of the equipment as the men are working, plus the sounds of the cussing as the men work to repair something – that is one sound that would make any game X rated if it was used with it.

            I don’t know if a board game could be made to incorporate the sounds and smells of farming; probably would cost a lot of money to do it, but it would make the game more realistic. And aren’t we into “reality” type games anyway?

            So maybe Kira’s idea of getting people to play this board game with her is a way  to introduce people to agriculture. Perhaps that is something we should consider as we are buying gifts for our non-agriculture friends, or entertaining them in our homes. Of course, if we have friends that are highly competitive or emotional, they may get more involved in the game and we may lose them as friends.

WINTER WEATHER

            Looking out the window at the lack of snow this morning I’m transported back to the winter of 1948 - 1949. I must have been in the 4^th grade at the time, going to Ammon Elementary school. My teacher was Mrs. Lavonda Rhodes, my aunt. The snow came hard and heavy and the wind blew a lot that winter. We were in our brick home on Sunnyside Road, had only been there a few years.  The roads became blocked with the drifts, some as high as the bottom pole on the electrical poles. I have pictures of that, so I’m not exaggerating. It seems we were snowed in a lot that year. In order to get to school, runners were put on a hay wagon and a team of horses pulled it through the back fields of all the farm ground. Hay was put on the sled for us to sit on. Dad had to take some of his fences down to enable the sled to get through our place. I don’t know who it was that drove the horses with the sled, but what a fun time. We would be late to school every morning we rode on the sled, get there about 10 a.m. School didn’t start until 9 anyway, so we weren’t too late. Then the sled would be in front of the school at the end of the school day to take us back home. I don’t remember how long that lasted, but when the snow plows finally were able to get through they had a hard time because  the drifts were so high.

            Girls always wore dresses to school back then, and we wore ugly long brown stockings during the winter. Mother even had her girls wear cotton button down the top underwear that the legs reached to our knees. Oh I hated those socks and underwear, but they did help keep me warm. There were times when Mother had us wear a pair of slacks or even some snow pants under our dresses.  I can’t remember hoods on our coats, but we did have scarfs that we tied around our heads, and then knit gloves. Sometimes we had another scarf we would put up over our mouth and nose and tie at the back of our neck, keeping our neck warm too. Our boots went over our shoes.

            As I look back, I can’t remember suffering much from the cold dressed as we were. We didn’t have the insulated underwear they have now, nor down filled coats. I do remember snow pants. They were usually made of wool and were itchy, even though they were over ugly, brown, long stockings and yucky white underwear.

            The days we were snowed in were fun days for us. We would dress up warm, take our sled out and coast off the drifts into the yard. Sometimes we could get Dad to saddle the horse. Them we would take our skis out to the field, strap them on, grab a rope that was tied onto the horse and ski up and down the field. The skis we had just had one leather strap that went around the ski and up over the toe of our boots. Sometimes we could get Dad to pull us on the toboggan with the pickup.

            When we were in the house, I read. Usually we would borrow and trade Nancy Drew books with our cousins and friends, so we had plenty of reading material. I think this is the time when I gained my love for reading and the written word. I could read all day until Mother needed help with something.

            We don’t seem to have the snow storms now that we did then, and when we do the road clearing equipment is so much better than it was, so being snowed in isn’t a common winter event. But those snowed in days were fun-filled memory-making days.

ANIMALS HAVE FEELINGS!

Cattle resting in their winter pasture.

           

            I have heard the comment that “animals are people too.” In my mind that is ridiculous. But I will admit that animals do have feelings and personalities just as humans do.  As we have an opportunity to watch and work with animals every day, we see those things.

            The calves run and jump and play. If they could smile and laugh you know they would when they are doing this. They seem to be playing a game of tag as they run around each other and then race off to the end of the pasture. It's like watching kids out on the school playground.

            A cow that has just lost her calf, though she doesn’t have tears running down her face, will moo in a mournful way. She will stand around the area where the dead calf was last alive; she will sniff the ground around it; she will lay down there, and she will mourn in her bovine way.

            A group of older calves will walk the fence looking for a way to get out. They remind me of teenagers trying to break out of the binding rules and regulations of life. And when a hole or a break in the fence is found, they will all go through. But, unless they are weaned, when mama calls they will run back to her.

            Most cows will become very protective of their new calf as soon as it is born. Some, especially first time mothers, have to be taught to take care of their calves. Maternal love and nurturing does not come natural to every animal nor does it to every human mother. But with care and patience, it can be taught.

            My dad raised sheep and I remember him skinning a dead lamb, putting that hide over an orphan or “bum” lamb that he wanted the distraught mother to adopt. When she smelled the skin of her own baby, she would be more willing to accept the new one.

            Dogs learn to understand what their owner wants them to do, and they develop the ability to communicate with them. Our dog, Spotty, almost seems to talk to us. This time of the year Boyd doesn’t spend the day in the field like he does when he can busy farming. If Spotty thinks it’s time for Boyd to go out, she will start whining as if to say, “Come on, we need to check the cows.” Then when he does go out, she gets in his way of putting his coveralls and boots on because she is so anxious to go out with him. If I have been gone in the car and she has been outside quite a while in the cold, she will meet the car and start whining as soon as I open the door. If I tell her she has to stay outside, she quits the whining and slinks off to pout. If I tell her to be patient and I’ll let her in, she sticks close to me and beats me in the door as soon as I open it.

            Boyd often will refer to the cows according to their personality: that’s the one you have to watch as she will be looking for a way through the fence; there’s one that doesn’t like anyone near her and her baby so you can’t  get an ear tag in the new born very easily; that one has always been a good mother; don’t turn your back on that one or she may plow you down, (she will be sold as soon as possible); there’s the one that likes you to scratch her head. He keeps good records of all of the cows and calves and if he has a question about any of them, he can check his notes in his records.

Being taught by his dad, Boyd has shown his sons how to be gentle and patient in working with cows. Not long ago we loaded some cows to ship and the driver said he had never had such an easy job of loading a herd of cows. I attribute that to the way they are treated here in the corrals and pastures. Yes, there are times they need to be prodded and sometimes smacked on the rear end, but usually patience will get things done faster than force.

            It’s recognizing the human traits in these animals and working with them that make life on the ranch interesting and worthwhile, but those traits don’t make them “people.”

IT TAKES A FARM

         

Grandkids at ranch, learning to rope.

          We’ve all heard the statement “it takes a village to raise a child”. I once attended a meeting where a young man received an award. The person presenting the award asked all those related to the young man to stand and remain standing. Then he asked anyone that had been a teacher in any form for this young man to stand and remain standing. Last he asked everyone who knew the young man to stand. The entire audience had stood by that time. The speaker then pointed out that we all have an influence, whether good or bad, on those around us. I think of  life on the farm/ranch and how it affects children raised there is similar to this. For example:

• ·         The farm/ranch offers the opportunity to learn about life from conception to birth to death. Animals become such a part of the life on the farm, that we don’t often see the lessons they teach us. The motherly instincts kick in at the birth of her newborn. She becomes protective if anything comes within range of her baby that might harm it. She gently nudges it to eat and to go out on its own with the other newborns. She is forever watching and listening. If her baby is sick or dies, she mourns – loud. As her baby gets older, she encourages its independence. Still being protective and watching, she lets it wander further away from her, finding its way in life.
• ·         Owners and their children become attached to their animals. We learn on the farm that animals are animals. Whether it is a horse, a dog, a calf, a cat, a bird, a turtle, or any other animal, they must be taken care of. They are to be fed and watered and medicated and loved. And they die whether from an accident, a disease or old age. That teaches a child about responsibility and about death. On the farm/ranch we learn that sickness and death is unavoidable. We learn that there are joys and sadness, and, so we learn to deal with it.
• ·         The seasons of the year become our friends as we learn from them. Right now, winter, when it is cold and snow covers the ground, we learn the importance of the ground resting and replenishing its water supply. We learn the importance of patience and rest for our own bodies to replenish its strength for when the days are longer and the work harder.
• ·         Spring brings the promise of new life not only for animals but within the soil. It is the time for preparing the soil and sowing the seeds. It’s the time for mending fences in preparation for moving cattle. We realize that mending fences is also important in our association with others
• ·         Summers are busy with irrigating, weeding, mowing lawns, and working to make things beautiful and create a crop. We learn hard work, getting up early in the morning and working until late at night, setting priorities over activities away from the farm versus responsibilities on the farm.
• ·         Fall brings harvest and the results of the spring and summer work. Sometimes it is a disaster because of weather or disease, other times it is like hitting the jackpot with beautiful crops, cows and calves that have had enough to eat and drink and thus look good. It is a time for being thankful for blessings, for storing food for animals and humans. For taking stock and looking forward to another year.

Yes, the farm/ranch life is about setting goals and working toward fulfilling them. It’s about budgeting, or at least knowing what money you have to work with to pay bills and wages to workers. It’s about using time wisely knowing there is only so much time to get the spring crop in, only so much time to harvest, only so much time in a day. It’s about treating animals kindly, watching for problems before they become too big to handle. It’s about helping neighbors when they need help and accepting help from neighbors when necessary. It’s about watching the sun rise and appreciating the beauty of it. It’s about watching the sunset and, though worn out from physical labor, appreciating that beauty. It’s about treating everyone as you want to be treated.

These are just some of the things the farm/ranch can teach a child. These things can be learned away from the farm, but it seems to come more natural on the farm. At least they did for this farm girl.

A CHRISTMAS I NEVER FORGOT

When I was in the fourth grade at Ammon Elementary, we would draw names in our classes and exchange presents the day school let out for the Christmas holidays. I can’t remember there being a monetary limit on what we were to spend, but I’m sure there was.

            In our class was  a boy whose family struggled financially. This boy was shunned by most of the class members including me. He wore bibbed overalls that were always baggy, probably hand-me-downs from an older brother, but was always clean and patched. His shirts were often patched and too big for him also. When the boys played marbles at recess time and he would be kneeling down with his marbles, we could see his socks poking through the holes in the soles of his shoes. As winter came we noticed the holes would be covered with cardboard put inside of the shoes. Most of us experienced that cardboard in the shoe experience back then, but we still would make fun of this boy. Especially when we could see his socks. And often there were holes in his socks too.

When it came time to draw names, no one wanted this boy to draw our name as we knew he couldn’t afford to buy anything. The big items those years were the Lifesaver books and Blue Waltz perfume. Any girl would be excited to get either one of those items. 

            As we would draw the name, our teacher would write down our name plus the name we drew. She kept a secret as to the names drawn, and told us to do the same. That was hard and of course in our little groups at recess we often shared the name we had drawn and the worry that he would draw our name.

            We were told not to bring the gifts to school until the day before we would open them, but as usual many brought their gifts early. Mom took my siblings and me to town, usually to Kress’s to shop for our school gift. We were encouraged to use our own money if we had any. No one had allowances back then, but Dad would sometimes pay us a little when we helped around the farm.

            Each day before the Christmas vacation, everyone came with their gift. We were not supposed to look at the wrapped gifts under the tree, but whenever the teacher was out of the room there would be a group going through the presents trying to find out who had their name. So two days before Christmas vacation, there, under the tree, was a box wrapped neatly with my name on it on the “To” category and our shunned boy’s name under the “From” category.

            Everyone was so relieved to finally find that gift, everyone but me that is. I tried not to show my disappointment because I loved receiving gifts like everyone else, but I knew this was not the year I’d receive Lifesavers or perfume.

            The time came for us to open our gifts. We didn’t get to do that until after our lunch. Then our teacher had the nerve to have us sing a few songs and she read a Christmas story before the gift giving began. Those activities seemed to take forever. Finally she had us go one person at a time, row by row. The first person in the row would get the gift he/she was giving and take it to the person to whom it was for. Then he/she unwrapped the gift and everyone could see what it was. The teacher made sure the recipient thanked the giver. Next person in the row did the same until everyone had received and opened a gift.

            My present was handed to me about half way through the gift-giving period. The shunned boy didn’t take his eyes off the floor as he gave me the gift but every eye in the room was on me as I opened it. Inside the box was a pen and a hand embroidered handkerchief.

            I knew better than to express disappointment, and I sensed the shunned boy expected me to laugh. My mother’s words just the night before as I expressed concern about the gift – “Always be a gracious receiver,” rang loud in my head. I looked at the boy and softly said, “Thank you. The handkerchief is beautiful and I can always use a pen.”

            He actually looked up at me and smiled, then walked back to his desk looking forward and not at the floor.

That is the only gift I remember receiving in my eight years in elementary school, but I have remembered the circumstances surrounding this experience every year at Christmas time. That day long ago I learned how important it was to accept and be appreciative of even the smallest of gifts. His smile taught me that!

NON-TRADITIONAL GIFTS FOR FARMERS AND RANCHERS

Sunset at the valley farm.

Now that Thanksgiving is over with and I’m still feeling stuffed and full, I am going to make my Christmas list. Farmers and ranchers are not the easiest people to shop for. Coveralls, boots, and gloves are not especially exciting gifts to give or receive. So I think I’ll look for some unusual and non-traditional type of things to give my men.

·                    How about a hat with a wide brim, one that will keep his face from being sunburned but won’t keep the sunshine out of his life. It should give him protection from the storms of life as they come, but, again as with the sunshine, not take those storms away as they are the rungs on the ladder to success.

·                 Maybe a suit of armor should go with the wide brimmed hat, so the entire body receives protection. Of course that would be dangerous when they are out irrigating or if an angry cow decides to chase them, so I guess I’ll cross that one off my list.

·                        A pair of rose-colored glasses with a special prescription for better foresight and an option to disregard hindsight. These glasses could be treated with a temperance coating that makes it possible to see the good in all people.

·                   A hearing aid specifically geared to enable him to hear good comments about agriculture and appreciation from the people who eat the food we produce. These could also have a special attachment that recognizes the different drum-beats individuals march to. Another good addition to these hearing aids would be a special setting to be able to hear his wife when she’s talking to him.

·                    How about a watch that will add or subtract an hour, depending on the need: add an hour when there just isn’t time to do everything; subtract an hour or speed up the mechanism on the watch when time is going too slow. But it does need to correlate with the watch that his wife has or there could be trouble with this gift!

·                      Specially treated gloves that convert sweat, grease, manure, and dirt into moisturizing cream, thus softening the hands as a reminder to treat those he meets with softness, gentleness, and kindness. These gloves need to be warm in the winter but have a cooling affect during the summer.

·                         Pants and coveralls with built-in knee pads that automatically kneel down at least once a day so the wearer can give thanks for the opportunity to work the land and with his animals. These knee pads will also help when he is kneeling by a sick cow or calf.

·                      A pair of boots with an occasional pebble or nail inside of them, so the owner will remember that not everyone goes the same speed as he does. Also, the boots need a good sole and heel to make firm footprints and an accurate path for those who will follow him.

·                   Perhaps a flashlight with a special heater to keep the hands warm in the cold of winter. The beam of this light would be formulated to give guidance on the darkest nights and in the darkest moments of the owner’s life. And it might even be able to guide and help those close to the owner using the light.

·                  Rainbows. He needs these periodically, not for the pot of gold at the end of it but for the moisture in front thus making it possible for him to create his own pot of gold. A rainbow also adds beauty to his life. And it usually means there has been some needed moisture to help in his life.

·                  A song in his heart so when things look bleak and gloomy, he has a reserve to draw on.

·              Beautiful sunrises to give him a positive start to the day and help him accomplish what needs to be done.

·                   Beautiful sunsets to encourage him to welcome in the night and help him to rest, free from worry.

I          I realize the last few are things that can’t be purchased. They are things that are free for all of us to enjoy. Now, if I could just find a place to buy some of the other items I’d have my Christmas shopping done. 

PREPARING THE RANCH FOR WINTER

Winter scene at our valley home

            This year we’ve had rain storms at unusual times, causing concerns about whether we would have enough feed for the cattle to see them through the winter. So in late September and early October my men were at the ranch cutting grass for hay and getting it baled. I can’t remember a time when we were cutting, raking, baling and hauling hay this late in the season. But this enabled us to have more feed for the cows, and that’s what we needed. Boyd always likes to have extra in case we have a heavy snow fall during the winter or early spring and are unable to get the cows to summer pasture as soon as we like to.

            The calves have been moved down from the ranch and weaned and the cows will be brought down between Thanksgiving and Christmas, depending on the weather. The sheds here in the valley have been scraped clean and lime spread on them, preparing for calving that starts mid-December at our place. New canvas has been put up and when it gets closer to the time we use them, straw will be spread out in the sheds.

Preparing and storing feed and getting sheds ready for winter use for the animals is not the only chores we need to do to get the ranch ready for winter. There is equipment to winterize and put up. The combine with its header is already in the shed at the ranch. After we are through cutting wheat, Doug, our oldest son, often leaves a list in the combine of things that need to be fixed the next spring. However, Doug had already left for Antarctica to work by the time we cut the wheat this year, so I don’t know if anyone else recorded things to do. That always helps come summer when no one can remember what needs to be done to get the combine running good.

We had the swather and baler in the shed at the ranch also, but the guys brought them back to the valley so we could get another cutting of hay off one of our fields. Boyd said we may store them down here this year instead of moving them back up – guess it will depend on when we are through with them and the condition of the roads. Bad roads are hard on equipment as we move it from the ranch to the valley farm and then back.

The fields have been disked and ready to work for spring planting. The plow shears have been painted black to keep them from rusting through the winter.

The waterers are checked for any problems even though it seems that cold weather always brings problems with the waterers whether they are checked or not. The panels have been put into the empty canals to keep the cows from going into the neighbors fields via of the empty water ways. The fences and gates have been checked and fixed if they need it. It won’t matter to some of the cows if the fences are tight and seem to be secure. But for the majority of our bovine friends, the fences are fixed to hold them in.

We’ve moved the camp trailer down, parked it by the garden for the winter. All of the water has been drained out of it and it has been winterized.

There are also things around the house and yard that needs pre-winter care. The garden plot has been cleared, sprayed, and tilled ready for spring. The tillers and lawn mower have been stored in the bully barn and the snow blower has been moved out into the garage. The flower beds have been weeded, spring bulbs planted, and roses covered. The dogs dug down in a spot where my washing machine drains, and so that hole was filled to prevent the drain from freezing. I’ve got all of the hoses hanging up behind the bully barn, except those needed to fill one of the water troughs that isn’t automatic.  The heater has been moved to the porch ready to turn on as the nights get colder. That keeps boots and coveralls warm as the guys spend so much time out in the cold during the winter.

There's much to be done in preparation for Mother Nature's most challenging season, but we're pretty well ready to face it and deal with whatever she throws at us. Now maybe we can all relax and enjoy the long nights and short days.