A Lesson in Patience, Pigs and Passers-by

 

A few weeks back I posted some photos from a wonderful weekend trip to Ohio wherein the Ninja's middle sister won the Grand Champion Market Hog at the Ohio State Fair. This accomplishment, which I should mention is a family win and not just limited to her, earned her and her hog a spot in the coveted Sale of Champions. The prestigious sale takes place the day after the champion is chosen however, the sale is held in a different building than the show, which is approximately 1/2 mile away from the show barn. The exhibitor, pig and entourage must make this trek, on foot, in the middle of a usually-sweltering summer day in Ohio. Did I mention it's at a state fair?

A small portion of the entourage leaving the pig pavilion

That means there are people EVERYWHERE. So imagine this scenario if you will:
A large hog that has only ever been around three or four people at one time is now thrust into the midst of hundreds of spectators, many of whom are small and screaming, at every junction. The pig is hot, scared and obviously, not on a leash. Throw in an entourage of family members and fair goers who don't understand boundaries and you can see how trouble can brew and stress can build.



Walking a pig down the midway is no small task

I must pause to share how excessively proud I was, and still am, of the Ninja's little sister. During this 1/2 mile walk, which seemed to last for hours, her pig became "grouchy," for lack of a better word, and several times tried to turn away from the path and go back to the barn, ignoring her directional guidance. Fair goers offered several comments, some of the most memorable being:

• You should put that pig on a leash! (To which I promptly responded, "Uh, that's not really possible at this point." I was met with an up-turned nose and the retort, "Yes, you definitely can.")
• Ewww - gross!
• That pig is crazy!

Obviously, the unending comments were starting to get to all of us and, bless her heart, that show woman didn't take her frustration out on the pig. She didn't issue backlash at the fair goers, she didn't curse and she didn't cry. She maintained her composure and patiently continued to move her hog towards the barn while the rest of the family shooed folks out of the way with the explanation that "The pig is scared because it's a farm animal and there are a ton of people here. We just need to give him some room." 


We're just going to squeeze right by the French fries stand!

I can think of no better situation than the walk to the Sale of Champions to exemplify the need for farmers, ranchers, livestock owners and showmen and women to remember that there are always people watching and wanting to learn more about animals. A lot of people thought it was really cool that we were walking a pig down the midway; others were disgusted and some people just didn't give a hoot. But the point is that patience is important when dealing with people and I can assure you that my sister-in-law was a shining example of how we should practice high-quality animal care and interact with consumers who just want a glimpse of rural life.

Happy Friday!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

The thoughts and opinions of this blog post strictly represent that of Brandi Buzzard Frobose and are NOT representative of any other entity or organization.

Why My Husband is NOT My Best Friend

This is why we can't be friends.

Disclaimer: Before you read on, please keep in mind that my husband, marriage, friends, family, circumstances and life are all different than yours.  Also, I've been married 3.5 years - those of you who have been married 5, 10 ,15 years or more will probably have a different opinion. So, your spouse/significant other might really be your best friend. I'm just sharing my opinion because, honestly, it's my blog. Thanks for reading and laughing along!

You've seen it in your Facebook newsfeed - a young lady's wedding day is rapidly approaching and she's excited to be showered with attention [that was a downside for me, actually], marrying the one her soul has chosen and generally just having a huge party. So, she continues to declare "I can't wait to marry my best friend!" to all her followers.

No offense to anyone who calls their significant other their best friend but I don't now, nor have I ever, referred to the Ninja as my best friend (If you have proof otherwise, please produce it because it has slipped my mind). I just don't think it's realistic. My opinion may change once I've been married for more than 20 years, but right now I just don't use "best friend forever" to describe the Ninja.

Why have I never called him my best friend? Well, that's easy - he isn't.

Yes - he's insanely smart, [bitter]sweet, supportive and caring. Yes - he listens to me gripe about [insert occasional life-frustration], keeps me grounded, walks with me in Christ and buys dinner most of the time. But that doesn't make him my best friend. Allow me to explain...

My best friends knows stuff about me that the Ninja NEVER will [ladies, zip those lips]. There are just some things I am not ever going to feel comfortable talking to my husband about and there are other things that I just don't think are any of his business. Call me crazy if you must but romance and marriage strife, body image/issues and past relationships/ex-boyfriends are just not great date night conversation topics in my humble opinion.

Communication is just one aspect of a relationship. Another important component is behavior and sometimes my husband's behavior makes me want to, quite honestly, hit him in the groin with a baseball bat. Sometimes, I don't really like him even though I love him more than words can say. Truth. Examples of said behavior:

• After ultrasounding sows all day at the hog farm he comes home, shoves his hand in my face and asks if his hand "smells piggy." Yes, it's been up a pig's butt for eight hours.
• On more than one occasion, he has vaporized on me
• He mispronounces Buzzard on purpose
• He drank my last Dr. Pepper - multiple times

My best friends would never do this - especially that Dr. Pepper one. In the words of Bon Qui Qui "I will cut you."

Lastly, I have built stronger-than-steel bonds with several of these women and ALL of them have been in my life before my husband. He's basically playing catch up. Some of the experiences we've had have formed a lifelong bonds and unfortunately very few of them can be listed on this blog but some safe ones are:

 

• Innumerable rodeo road trips
• Jesus holding some cheese
• A spring break trip to Europe with lifelong lady friends

 

• 21st and 23rd birthday parties in Manhattan, Alva and Durant
• Claremore/Hinton rodeo weekend in 200?
• San Antonio 2010
• NWSS 2010
• Cinco de Drinko Mayo
• And even a bunch of memories from middle and high school

It is for all these reasons that the Ninja can never be my best friend. Don't mistake that for not being a friend, period. Of course he's my friend and he will be by my side until the day I die but it takes more than a ring to make someone a best friend.

OK - I'm prepared for your thoughts and criticisms. Those of you who have been married for longer than the Ninja and I have been, did you feel the same way I did at this point? Am I the only woman who is not best friends with her husband? Again, mad props to you if he is your bff in addition to being your soul mate but such is not the story at the Frobuzz Ranchero.

I leave you with a quote that describes the Ninja and I pretty well.

"You're an ass. You can never make up your mind. You always mock me. I never seem to like you. But all at the same time, I am completely & madly in love with you."

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

The Mush Continues...

Don't fret - this is the last mushy post of the year (probably). But I just have to share the details on our 2nd anniversary.

THE NINJA KNOCKED IT OUT OF THE PARK.

I woke up on Tuesday morning and was getting dressed and curling my hair and he said, "Make sure you bring something to wear to watch the game" and I immediately thought he wanted to go to Aggieville to watch the Cats. So when I asked him where we were going to park our butts for the game, I was shocked for him to say "Section 1."  I flipped out, y'all. Did my happy dance around the bedroom, jumped on the bed - the whole caboodle. Day officially made. Nobody knows me better than the Ninja. This was the absolute perfect present - I wasn't sure how he was going to swing planning a great date AND working the game in but he totally scored major husband points for catering to sports fanatic Buzzard.

So it makes perfect sense for the rest of the day to drag ooooooooooooon. When 6 pm rolled around and I got these puppies in my hand, I had the biggest possible grin on my face. Cheesin'

 That's my boy - McGruuuuuuuuder

I make the Ninja smile for pictures on special days. He doesn't like it but he obliged when I held up my 2 Years sign for us to take a photo with in the Octagon of Doom. Many of you saw it on Instagram (follow me @brandibuzzard) Tuesday night but here it is again for your viewing pleasure. 

 The other side said "We Are K-State" and had McGruder's number on it which also happens to be the same day as our anniversary. Coincidence?

And just for good measure, here's the one from last year:

Look at that hand-crafted beauty of a sign.

 So the game didn't quite turn out like I had hoped but I was thrilled to see that we can easily hang with KU. McGruder had an off night and KU only had 7 fouls called against them in an entire game but it's over and I"m looking forward to the game this Saturday against Iowa State. 

And just because he is amazing, he got me a dozen roses to boot. I'm not the kind of girl that needs flowers, but I don't know a girl who doesn't appreciate them. And these are sure making my office look and smell very cheery!

Warning: here comes the mush. I've said time and again I'm a very passionate person and the Ninja will attest to that. I can go from passionately happy to passionately ticked in the same hour but I'm of the frame of mind that normality is over-rated. I am so unbelievably blessed to have married a man that appreciates and loves all of me, all of the time. He never reads this blog but maybe he'll see this. Who knows.

I am so grateful for the Ninja's ability to love a red-headed, loud-mouthed, stubborn, quick talking, passionate tomboy. I'm glad he sticks with me although I'm not entirely sure that if I were a horrible chef that he wouldn't leave me. So I guess I'll keep frying and baking to keep him around. Like I said, I don't believe in being average and I found a great old movie quote that pretty much sums up our life together:

"Unless it's mad, passionate, extraordinary love, it's a waste of time. There are too many mediocre things in life, & love should not be one of them."

Until next time (with waaay less mush),

~ Buzzard ~

Dos Anos

That's two years for the non- Spanish speaking.

Dos anos ago, this happened:

Ah, sweet wedded bliss.

So today this week, things are going to be a little more mushy on the blog. I can't help it. I love the Ninja. A lot.

Last year, I shared the details of how we spent our first wedding anniversary and I'll be doing the same this year. I always (does two years count as always?) put the Ninja in charge of these things because he blows them out of the water. Seriously, so thoughtful. But until then, here are some of my favorite photos from the big day and the festivities afterwards. And these aren't your normal cliche, picturesque photos (well a smidgen of them might be) but are the outtakes and hilarious candids from a day of love and laughter; family and friends. I even narrate - enjoy!

 We did this exact same thing at her wedding a few weeks ago - can't

 keep a straight face around that gal!

 The Ninja missed the 'be serious' memo

 What's not to love about this picture? They were in unison for a good 10 seconds. epic.

 Two reasons I like this photo: 1) I love having a picture of the Ninja and I praying together 2) My dad and the groomsmen decided to pull a little prank. Check out his shoes!

We stood in the door for a few minutes because we were supposed to wait for the music to change and it was awkward.

 Photo fail by the Ninja. I must have said something hilarious, as usual.

 Again, miscommunication between the photogs. I thought we were supposed to look gangsta, while Becca obviously went the more photogenic route. We did this at her wedding too.

 Andy, the best man, talked about how he warned the Ninja that I 'was a handful.' A handful of awesome! (notice the empty Crown Royal bottle so early in the night)

 I love all of these guys (well, most of them - right, Rooney?)

 Papaw and I

I love what a great big-brother my husband is - he's going to be a fantastic father!

 Not our first dance but I love that the Ninja has some great dance moves now. He didn't have any when we met - mega points to me for having rhythm and being able to teach him how to two-step and swing dance.

 The power of prayer with my best ladies

 Cheap shot, Ninja. Thank goodness for cousins to wipe cake off my face. Thanks, Court.

No wedding in Manhattan is complete without swing dancing at Longhorn's. in your wedding dress. to this song.

 See? I told you I taught him how to dance.

All photos by Grant Watkins (except the bar photos)

What are some of your favorite photos from weddings you've attended or your own wedding?

Until next time,

~ Buzzard~

Blogiversary - The Big 3 and A Freebie!

Three years ago this coming Sunday, I started a blog with this post about one of my favorite agriculture traditions.

And boy oh boy, I had no idea the things that would come of this little ole blog.

Over the past 3 years and almost 300 posts, I have learned far more about blogging and social media than I ever imagined possible. I have gained followers from all walks of life and from all over the world. I have found friendships with people I have never met but feel like I've known a lifetime. This blog prompted my signing up for, and eventual addiction to, Twitter (@brandibuzzard). It has also sparked a journey that led me to my career today, so without any more insightful crap mushy memories, here's a list of things that have come of this blog:

- The development of my writing skills which led to freelancing opportunities with:
    -- Farm Talk
    -- Grass and Grain
    -- DRIVE magazine
    -- SwineWeb.com
- Master's of Beef Advocacy Blog of the Month - August 2010
- Blogging on these other sites - YPC Beef Blog, Food For Thought 
- Social Media Coordinator for NCBA's Young Producer's Council (which led to):
- Co-Chair Communications Committee NCBA YPC
- Featured twice in articles by Chuck Jolley in Drover's Cattle Network -- October 2009 and March 2012
- Featured in a BEEF Magazine article by Jamie Purfeest in the October 2011 issue
- Because of my vocal advocacy of agriculture on this blog and Twitter I was an invited to speak about agvocacy at the Australasian Pig Science Association (APSA) Conference in Adelaide, South Australia in November 2011. There were a lot of different demographics and ideals in the room but I think everyone benefited from the experience.
- The freelancing and blogging experience led to a job with K-State Research and Extension incorporating several of my favorite things into one amazing experience: K-State, agriculture, writing, social media - whammo. Perfect.

The Hardcore Stats

My top 5 all-time posts are:
1. Temple Grandin - HBO Biopic: 4570 views - A post announcing the release of the Emmy award winning film about Dr. Grandin's early years
2. Buzzard's fly, they don't ski: 3469 views - This post was about Ninja and I getting engaged so while I would like to think that 3500 people were concerned with our lives, I am assuming some other search term like "buzzards flying" brought them to that post.
3. Who Are We to Judge Horsemeat: 1791 views - A post about how American's don't set the tone for what other countries eat and we shouldn't condemn those that don't rely solely on beef, pork or chicken.
4. Grillin' Ain't BBQ'in: 1149 views - A surprisingly popular post about how the terms grilling and bbqing are often interchanged and misused.
5. In Honor of Pigs and Pork: 847 views - Again, a post which garnered a lot of attention for some unknown reason. This contains a lot of factual information about pork. It was written during Pork Month.

Where y'all be coming from?

The top ten countries that visit Buzzard's Beat are:
1. United States
2.  Russia (surprising)
3. Australia (not surprising)
4. Canada
5. United Kingdom
6. Germany
7. Netherlands
8. France
9. India
10. Brazil  

Whatcha lookin' for?

The 10 most popular search terms used to find this blog since its inception:
1. Temple Grandin
2. Buzzard
3. Turkey Buzzard (thanks Sharita)
4. Buzzards
5. Horse meat (which I'll not be eating)
6. Fiji (probably stems from posts of this nature)
7. BBQ
8. Buzzards Beat (hooray you remembered my url!)
9. Mini pigs (whaaat?)
10. Trevor Brazile (hahahaha - I love me some Trevor Brazile)
Those that didn't make the top 10 but are still funny were: vet (uh, no), great American desert, school lunch policy, 80s girl, article on global warming and my personal favorite: bone in cow heart (twice!).

Ok - so now to the part that you all really came to the blog for....

A friend of mine makes western jewelry with copper and silver. It's gorgeous - her company is called Silo Silver and you can find her on Facebook. She has generously helped me out with a pair of these gorgeous feather earrings with turquoise and copper to giveaway to one lucky reader. For the fellas, you may not think they'll look good on you but what about that lucky lady in your life???

Enter by following the instructions on the easy peasy Rafflecopter thing - (Sheridan introduced me to these and they make giveaways so much easier). Entries will close on Halloween - then I'll announce the winner the next day! It'll be a spooky surprise, but not really spooky.

****This giveaway is now closed - the Rafflecopter widget has been removed****

Thanks so much for your loyal readership over the past three years. It's been quite a journey and I've loved it and hope to be able to continue sharing my opinions, sarcasm and passion with you for years to come (did I say years? yikes).

Until next year (kidding, I'll post again before then),
~ Buzzard ~

p.s. the picture above is from my Instagram feed - here is my shameless plug. Follow me - @brandibuzzard!

Decorating the Blog with Diversity

I struggle to keep this blog ag, K-State and rodeo centered. Because I like random things like decorating and cooking (sometimes) and I always love clothes and would love to be able to do what Sheridan does over on Stitches Without Riches but I don't want to deter from my real purpose for the blog. So while I will probably start to put more random domesticated blogs in here, never fear because K-State, ag and rodeo will always reign supreme.

See how I put decorating in the title? I bet you didn't know this was going to be about decorating. I tricked ya.

I have put a lot of time into decorating our trailer house for fall, especially since it's the first house we've had room to decorate in since we've been married. So, today you're getting a splash of fall decorating in and around our trailer casa and also some excitement of DIY. Very domesticated I have become (that was Yoda speaking). Oy, marrying a nerd is rubbing off on me.

Ok let's kick start this with some DIY excitement - I have a lot of jewelry and nowhere to put it all so I can choose what to wear.

See this right here? That's a jewelry board with cool vintage-y knobs from Hob Lob that I made using a piece of barnwood from the old barn across the road. Total cost: $8 - I saw one on ebay selling for $40. I am such a saver.

And this?

Oh, just a burlap monogram letter of the family name. No biggie - knocked that DIY project out in one night. Easy peasy.

And this lampshade?

Purple spray paint is the bomb.

I made those things, folks. With my two hands. And some power tools. and a flame torch.  Also, I did some fall decorating on that table with the wooden duck and a pumpkin candle. Ba-zing.


And now for the decorating portion of today's random blog post:

 

This is in our living room - I found the barnwood shelf/cabinet on Craigslist and the framed copy of A Tribute to the Stockman by W.H. Mumford is a gift from my sister-in-law, Hallie. The wooden dish is made from eucalyptus wood that we bought it in Australia. Glammed up pumpkins are from Michaels, as is the hurricane jar and candle. Wine corks were already on hand ;)

Next up the mantel top of the entertainment center

 I don't like to buy a lot of things to decorate, because I'm cheap. So I use whatever I can find in our house or stuff we have purchased on different trips. I like to incorporate items from our international travels - like that bowl (which needs to be dusted) with the colorful orbs and string. Both the bowl and the orbs are from South Africa and so is the pronghorn horn. See the homemade monogram sign up there? Forgot to mention that cost me all of $3.50 to make since I only had to buy the spray paint. Which I also used to spray paint the lamp shade and a small ceramic dish that is hiding elsewhere in the house.

Oh and check out my friend Ernie, perched atop some fall colored books - all but two of the books are from international trips we have taken.

 These fall flowers are actually kind of recycled - I bought the orange and red one but the ceramic vase with raffia and the yellow flower are from my sweet friend Lindsay. In the spring, the whole thing is full of the yellow flowers that she gave me for my birthday a few years ago.

We live in a trailer modular home with an open floor plan so there isn't a lot of designated space for a big kitchen table or other shelves but this woven bowl from South Africa filled with gourds is doing a great job of looking fall-ish on table that we rarely eat at.

 And now we've come to the outdoors portion of the tour - from left to right: our front door with pumpkins, gourds and some corn stalks; close up of pumpkins (purchased from East Side Market); the porch at the back door (aren't my yellow mums pretty?). 

And if, for some reason, you all like this kind of stuff  please let me know. Maybe I'll do a 'house tour' or something. Or recipes I am going to use in my new crockpot that I finally got from Hyatt. Show me some comment love!

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

My Baby: Semi-Wordless Wednesday

Nope, I'm not pregnant.

Moving on - my children are much more expensive to feed and are considerably larger. My favorite child, my pride and joy, my baby - the superstar athlete, straight A student, cuddly cute one is Doc. You've seen him here.

 And there is the problem child - the one who sneaks out of the house to meet up with the punk rock boyfriend, the child who gets kicked out of prom and the one who doesn't care what I say because I'll never understand how hard her life is (*sigh*). Meet Friday, less affectionately known as HB. I'll let you figure that out for yourself. I bought her from my brother - she is a super nice heel horse and I am adding breakaway roping to her repertoire and she's not doing bad at all.

In all fairness, she isn't really mean or anything. She just isn't finished and I don't devote as much to her as I should. She's also not Doc, which unfortunately makes her #2 in my book even though she can't help it. Favorite child syndrome going on at the FroBuzz Ranch. That said, I have ridden three times this week and things are going well. I anticipate that by next spring, she'll be ready for a summer full of rodeos; once I get her to run through a barrier and some other minor stuff like that.

Sorry for all the words.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~

Engagement Chicken and Easter

Today was our first Easter as a married couple and usually for Easter, we join the rest of the Buzzard clan at my Grandma and Papaw's house for ham, mashed potatoes and the best fried chicken in the world.

Not this year. This year we're in Australia and I was in charge of Easter dinner. I accidentally found a recipe for Engagement Chicken on a Yahoo! blog. According to the author of the blog, the recipe is named Engagement Chicken because there have been several young women who made this dish and then a month or two later their boyfriends proposed. Something to do with it being the type of homemade meal their mom would make.

Recipe is below:
Engagement Chicken
Serves 2 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (approximately 4 pounds)
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, plus 3 whole lemons—including 1 sliced for garnish
• 1 tablespoon kosher or coarse sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• Fresh herbs for garnish (4 rosemary sprigs, 4 sage sprigs, 8 thyme sprigs, and 1 bunch fl at-leaf parsley)

1. Position an oven rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F. Remove the giblets from the chicken, wash the chicken inside and out with cold water, then let the chicken drain, cavity down, in a colander for 2 minutes.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Place the chicken breast-side down in a medium roasting pan fi tted with a rack and pour the lemon juice all over the chicken, both inside and out. Season the chicken all over with salt and pepper inside and out.
3. Prick 2 whole lemons three times each in three different places with a fork and place them deep inside the cavity. Chicken cavity size may vary, so if one lemon is partly sticking out, that’s fine. (Tip: If the lemons are stiff, roll them on the countertop with your palm before pricking to get the juices flowing.)
4. Put the chicken in the oven, lower the oven temperature to 350°F, and roast, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Using tongs or two wooden spoons, turn the chicken breast- side up. Insert a meat thermometer in the thigh, and return the chicken to the oven and roast for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or until the meat thermometer reads 180°F and the juices run clear when the thigh is pricked with a fork. Continue roasting if necessary. Keep in mind that cooking times in different ovens vary; roasting a chicken at 350°F takes approximately 18-20 minutes per pound, plus an additional 15 minutes.
6. Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes before carving. And here’s the secret: Pour the juices from the roasting pan on top of the sliced chicken— this is the “marry me juice.” Garnish with fresh herbs and lemon slices.

Here is how it ended up - super juicy but not much to look at because I didn't want to spend $10 on garnishes. But Hyatt said it was delicious :)

That's a lemon sticking out, btw.

Post lemon-removal:

And Hyatt carving the bird :)

Total cost of our meal?
Chicken - $5.32
Green beans - $1.00
Lemons - $2.50
Total cost of meal: $8.82 for two people = $4.41 per person. AND we had leftovers :)

I am not sure how I feel about this domesticated wifey-ness thing I've got going on. Strange.

I hope that you all have a special Easter, wherever you are, and that you take time to remember the real reason for Easter. To celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Best wishes for a blessed holiday.

Until next time,
~ Buzzard ~