These Boots.....

I love Eric Church.  I love his voice, I love his music and I'd love it if he were my arm candy (not all the time, just temporarily).  Last night I went to a FREE and amazing Eric Church concert in the Power & Light district in Kansas City.

One of Eric's hits is a song called "These Boots." He talks about a lot of life events and stupid things he's done while wearing them.  It's an example of great songwriting and you can read the lyrics or listen to the song later to find out what I mean.

 But let me get to my point.....
 You know who else experiences a lot in their boots?  The fine folks that produce our nation's food supply - yep, America's farmers and ranchers have more stories to tell about what happens during a day in their shoes than anyone I know.  Don't believe me?  Ask one of over 2,000,000 American farmers how they feed the nation day in and day out - I'm sure they'd be glad to tell you. 

For example - every day dairy farmers mik their cow herds 2-3 times per day.  The work day starts before the sun comes up and ends after the sun has disappeared.  Dairy farmers do this 24/7, even on the holidays. How does that milk taste? Thank a farmer!

Right now, in Colorado, farmers are in the middle of wheat harvest.  Wheat harvest, regardless of location,  isn't your typical 9-5 with breaks at 10 and 3.  When I was in high school, I used to go up to my room at 9 or 10 pm and look out the window to see the neighbors harvesting wheat with the headlights on the combine blazing.  They worked late into the night and were back at it again early the next morning. 

My best friend in elementary school, Heather, and I used to bottle feed the calves that her dad had put on the porch.  He had been up all night checking mama cows and calves every 2 hours to make sure that the calves were standing and able to nurse.  If they were too weak, they went to the porch and we got to take care of them.

These are just a drop in the ocean compared to the endless knowledge and experience an American farmer has.  Below, I've listed some great sites for true, and humorous, farm stories. 

Baxter Black, DVM and cowboy poet - On the Edge of Common Sense
The Chronicles of Newman (and other farm stories) - http://www.stargazingfarm.org/chronicles/
Five Farms: Stories from American Farm Families

And just for good measure, I had to throw in a picture of my boots ;)

Until next time,
~Buzzard~