Happy 3rd Anniversary

Today marks three years of Will and I being married and what a ride it has been. September 20, 2014 was a lot less hot than it is today. We got a little rain in the morning and the afternoon was just beautiful. We chopped corn the following week where this year we did in two days before. What a crazy three years it has been.

Will and I are still close with all of our wedding party except for one usher (family drama). We have welcomed into our hearts a daughter and 2 nephews (my sister's 2nd son and Will's "Brothers" third son) and a great nephew (Will's niece's son) and in those three years along with watching our nephews  who were just month's old at our wedding grow. There has been a lot of up's and just as many down's, but we have made it.

Marriage is hard work. There is a lot that goes into taking two different people and making them live cohesively and then add kids into the mix......crazy! I can say we have both grown individually, as a couple and as parents. Life is busier than ever, but we are surviving. We have made new friends along that way, some by crazy chance (like cows walking 3 miles to their house) and some by fate (like Will's cousins he didn't get a chance to grow up with). We have both taken a long look at who we want apart of our lives and who we need to cut out. Sometimes it is clear to us and other times we had to learn the hard way.

Our farm has grown by leaps and bounds. We added farm land and pasture land. We sold cows and added cows. Will even decided to part ways with his first bull he bought 9 years ago. We have upgraded our facilities and learned new ways of doing things to make things easier.

The one thing that stays the same is the love and commitment we have for each other, our daughter and future children and our promise to raise our family on the farm. As hard as it gets we will never fail as along as we don't loose site of those commitments.

Fall is coming Fast!

A week ago I thought harvest was never going to come. The corn was as green as it could be and the weather has been perfect for us but terrible for drying corn, but a lot has changed on the horizon in that week. Fields of corn and beans are drying up quickly and the weather is feeling more and more like fall. I would say we will be chopping within a week and harvest will start shorty after that. I think Will is feeling the pressure to get things ready for cattle to come home as we spent all weekend digging in posts and working on barns. The winds we had in May really did a number on our bull barn and wind break. Our contractor is about done with the bull barn repairs and Will and my dad worked on the wind break this weekend. I am not looking forward to Will going into the fields for harvest. Even though he really isn't home a lot now, he is a least able to do chores, during harvest that responsibility falls onto me. Last year Lyndin did not see him for 38 days. I am hoping since she is a little older maybe she will be able to spend some time in the semi with her dad this year. I learned last year that I really rely on my family and friends to help me get everything done during this busy time. As Lyndin gets older she likes to do her own thing instead of helping me and she doesn't like to sit still long enough to enjoy the tractor.

With this cooler weather it gets me thinking of Christmas and how busy our schedules can get so I am trying to pre-plan this year as we also have a family wedding during the holiday season. So if I ask about Christmas plans don't think I am crazy. I am just trying to squeeze everything in.

Shortly we will have feeder calves for sale. With the corn prices so low, now would be a great time to feed out some cattle. If you are looking for any, let me know. We also have a few show calves left if anyone is needs some quality show stock!

We made our own "high"

After all the lows we have had this year, Will and I decided to make our own high. Will has always talked and dreamed about owning an Australian Shepherd, but we never quite found the right fit until a Facebook post popped up in my news feed about a family looking to re home a 9 month Australian Shepherd male. I immediately sent a message to the lady and went and found Will. It was like it was meant to be. He quickly fell in love with just a few pictures. After talking to the lady they were looking to re home due to his anxiety when strangers came into the yard. He was great with their 2 and 3 year old daughters and other dogs and animals, but didn't like strangers, especially males. We decided to take the risk and made arrangements to meet in Austin, MN to pick him up. Well, after a few days of anxiety that the deal would fall through, we got to meet Sully. They asked that Will and Lyndin hide while they introduced him to me first. Sully jumped out of the car and right into my arms. He was full of kisses and love. Lyndin couldn't stay away any longer so she came running over and Sully greeted her will a million kisses. They both were in love. Then it was Will's turn. Will walked up and Sully sniffed him and went back to kissing Lyndin. The previous owners were happy with that response to him because normally he becomes aggressive. We loaded Sully into his kennel and off we went. We had planned to stop at a park about 30 minutes out of Austin to let both Lyndin and Sully run. Sully jumped right out and played on the playground with Lyndin and went right over to Will. They instantly had a great connection, so much that Sully road in the front seat with Will on the way home. It was great to see Will smile when he would look at Sully, I knew his heart was full once again.

Once we got home we introduced Sully to Aspen and Ahlee. After a few battles Aspen and Sully turned to playing. Ahlee is still a little unsure. We left Aspen and Sully in the garage overnight and moved Sully to the shed this morning. We noticed he liked to run after cars as one went by last night so we will need to teach him his boundaries before he is free to roam.

Sully has already started working on sit, stay, come and kennel and responded very good to those with us. He did chores with us last night and never once was aggressive towards any of the animals. I think he is going to be an excellent fit and a big highlight for our family. Our dog Aspen who is half german shepherd/half blue heeler has started showing some aggression towards the cows and other animals so we are hoping Sully will help calm her down. Will is hoping to work with Sully more to train him to watch gates while he is doing chores.

What a great "high" we had yesterday. Lyndin woke up saying "Ahlee Out" to put him outside and then "where Ully" as she wanted to see the new family member.