Headin for the Hills!
December 21st, 2006 by Northern FarmerIt’s snowing out as I write. That hasn’t happened all that often so far this season. Well, now all those folks that wanted a white Christmas around here might just get it! Not much, but it’s white. Christmas season doesn’t put much pressure on me, don’t worry about the rush to get gifts and all that. Traditionally this is the time of the year when we have the least money on hand, calf crop is weaned and being back rounded. Now for folks that don’t know what that means, it’s when the four to five hundred pound calves are separated from their mothers, forever, and learn to fend for themselves eating hay and silage. The mamma’s beller for a couple of days when they’re separated just to make it look good, like they’re all concerned and that, but secretly thank God for getting that big lug away from the ever dwindling milk supply on the bottom end of her body. That big baby can literally lift mamma up trying to get the very last drop out of there. So now the cowherd comes home every morning for some silage and hay, after that they head back out to the back woods and spend the remainder of the day and all night there. The calves, once they kinda forget their addiction to mamma’s milk, hit the hay and silage with gusto! Eating two large round bales of hay a day and allot of green chop Open Pollinated corn silage. That’s basically the day here as far as the cattle go. Got a few steers left on the place, going fast. We gotta make sure we butcher one more for ourselves because you can’t buy beef that flavorful in the store. In fact one regular customer just told me they ran out of last years beef a couple weeks ago and went to the local super market and bought what they figured was some good hamburger. They made a little of it and egad! Took it right back to the store, saying it wasn’t fit to eat! Called me right up and ordered a half on the spot! Of course customers always get some beef industry facts from old Tom here. Not rumors, but right out of the beef industries fact sheet. You can’t get better facts than right from the source! And they think they’re impressing people! Now if you’ve ever been to a cow slaughtering plant, which I have many times, and you see the shape of them cows getting slaughtered and figure your getting some wholesome food, well, good! Somebody got to eat it, don’t want to get our population of dogs sick, eh! Oh, I could go on about this!
But Christmas is coming and I’ll put that on the back burner because before Christmas arrives we’re having a doings at our church Friday night, not a Christmas doings, just some old fashion preaching, teaching, and all the other good stuff. Hopefully I can write a Christmas post this weekend. I can’t wait for tomorrow night! Bringing some folks with us too! Can’t just keep all this to ourselves, gotta spread it! Out here in the back roads, this weekend there’ll be people from everywhere comin up from the Twin Cities and who knows where else, coming to visit relations and all that. But as all that activity is going on there’ll be a little group of folks in a small rural church listening to some powerful preaching, praising God with everything they got! This group will be in a different world that night than the hustle and bustle of what’s considered the holiday way nowadays. A group getting on fire for Jesus! Oh Lord, this will be something. Reminds me of last Spring’s Healing Services for three days. I didn’t know what to expect, in fact I was taught almost all my life that folks that believed all that were a bit over the edge. You know, that teaching that God don’t heal now, that was just a thing back in the Bible to show us how it all worked back then. How that was all taken away and all that. Yup, sit around like a bunch of dead stiffs thinking we’re so holy. Well, I found out it don’t quite work that way cause when you believe the Bible is the Word of God, things happen just like the Bible says they’re going to! And I believe that Book, every bit of it! I believe in every gift that God gave to the New Testament church is still available today! Just believe! And healing is very much on the move in the church! From deafness to unrepairable injuries, from addictions to conditions the doctors said would never go away! All healed, and that’s just this family! Now you take the rest of the folks in that little church and find out all the healings that took place and the list gets pretty long. Glory to God!
So tomorrow we head for the hills, hope it ain’t to slippery on the roads, because them hills are some dillies! Pick up some folks on the way and get there a bit early in case there’s any help needed. Pray that our tires will do the job, those tires I’ve put off replacing, oh yes, that’s a habit I have. Always waiting for after the fact to do something. But somehow, some way things do get done around here.
December 21st, 2006 at 10:43 pm
Be careful on your drive up the hill. It snowed here today. We’ve got some sleet happening. And a very merry Christmas to you and yours as you celebrate, with our Lord Jesus.
God bless
December 22nd, 2006 at 6:37 am
Hi Godzheart!
It’s a bit foggy out here this morning, don’t have to go anywhere that I know of till tonight so I’ll have to see what kind of day we have out there in a bit. If it would be to slippery an old trick is to stick to the gravel roads where the gravel gives grip. Now, I know that ain’t very possible in the cities but it kinda works here. And when things get bad we throw a round bale on the back of the three quarter ton pickup, put it in four wheel drive and have at it. But for now my only concern is ice.
Merry Christmas to You and Yours!
God Bless!
December 22nd, 2006 at 6:53 am
Merry X-mas Tom (That’ll give ya something to blog about……).
Have a great CHRISTmas too. Hard to find gravel roads down here, but then again its hard to find ice too.
Sounds like y’all celebrate like we do. Low key and at home. We’ll be heading to a little bigger church both Saturday and Sunday. Saturday is the “regular” mass and Sunday is the Christmas mass. Then its home for a small family gathering with a group whos ages vary from 93 to 16. We snack and play games until around 10pm when we try to catch the Christmas mass on the tube. The whole thing breaks up about midnight, though Pa-paw is usually give out about 9.
I love Christmas, partly because of the gift giving…. I sit around Christmas morning and watch the givers eyes as the people open the gifts. Its the only time where (I think) the giver is almost more excited than the getter. Kinda what Christ was talking about eh??…Just a magical, magical time…….
Anyway, I hope you and the family have a wonderful holidays…. and keep that hay bale between the lines!!
Have a GREAT Christmas,
Brad
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:17 pm
Hey Brad!
Well a very Merry X-mas to you and yours too down there where smart people live in the nicer climates. Acually pretty warm here today in the fog. Just a bit above freezing. Just got back from town and the roads are pretty decent, just wet. Car’s a slopping mess though!
Our Christmas is fairly low keyed too. But then again I don’t have much time during the daytime to be with everybody, except the cattle. They still eat on Christmas. But I give them a little treat, give the cows some higher quality hay that day, and they just love it! Hmm, even the cows get gifts around here. But there’s just something about it all that does it to me.
Well, I’d better get upstairs and eat a big farm dinner and then catch my traditional farmer’s nap. Then hit the work and chores this afternoon and then scramble to church later. Now for anyone out there that figures that dinner is in the evening, well here it’s still where it’s supposed to be. Besides, that meal ain’t no lunch. Then six hours later comes the big supper. Three meals a day, about three times the calories that the average American is supposed to eat according to our ever wise government, and still slim and trim. Go figure! OK, it’s called burning more calories then you intake, simple mathematics. (Now how in the heck did I get sidetracked on that???) Must be hungry writing this.
Getting back to earth here, again Merry Christmas and I hope your all blessed by it!
Tom
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:39 pm
Merry Christmas Tom to you and your family. Sure seems you have a handle on what this season is about. Enjoy your time. Keep er betweeen the ditches tonite.
December 22nd, 2006 at 12:48 pm
Guy,
Same to all you folks up there! Merry Christmas! Right now the roads ain’t half bad, but it’s that kinda in between weather where anything can happen so we’ll just play it by ear. Take care my friend and have a Blessed one!
Tom
December 22nd, 2006 at 6:28 pm
Oh yeah I was going to tell you, after I get through the last 100 pages of Bromfield’s “Pleasent Valley”, (I still think “My 90 Acres” is the best short story ever written….)this Christmas season is going to be reading the first nonfiction book in ten years.
I pulled out “The Time It Never Rained” and my wifes jaw about dropped. I told her it had a Christmas theme
Anyway, the words look small and the book looks thick so I’m having my reservations, but we’ve had enough rain since this summer so that I think I can get through it anyway. I’ll let you know…..
Merry Christmas again,
Brad
December 22nd, 2006 at 9:40 pm
Tom,
Merry Christmas. It is good to hear that you will have a full Christmas with an on fire church. I think I kinda feel a slight let down with my oldest son going back to Virginia, plus Christmas with the extended family is next weekend. These long nights and cloudy, foggy days make me feel like going into hibernation.
I know the drill with tires. I have been wondering how my tires are going to do in the snow. We still have bare ground, so I guess I get a reprieve on having to think about the tires.
Jim V
December 22nd, 2006 at 10:07 pm
Be sure and tell us all about all them doins at church:):)
December 23rd, 2006 at 8:38 pm
Brad,
I hope you enjoy the book as much as I have over the years. It’s a good one. One man’s fight against drought and government, the last of an independant breed. Small family rancher, only eleven sections, plus he ends up raising goats, might be interesting for you
Merry Christmas and God Bless!
Jim,
I’m so tired out tonight, barely got any sleep last night! Kinda wobbly tonight. Church was just the greatest last night, amazing how things can go hour after hour and nobody leaves or gets bored. Powerful preaching, more than a full house, folks everywhere, and not a Christmas program or anything like that! Glory to God!
Merry Christmas to you and your family and a sincere thanks in helping out on this blog!
God Bless!
Patti,
I’ll see what I can come up with about that service. To be truthful, that’s my favorite subject to write about. Cause if there’s going to be any hope in this society it’ll have to come from families and those churches that are on fire for God. And that little church was hot last night!
Merry Christmas down in Iowa!
God Bless!