Sunrise and Sunset

I've been playing with my iPhone camera and some new apps this week. 

Hope you all have a wonderful week! 

So God Made a Farmer (updated)

We didn't watch the Super Bowl... gasp... 

When the big game came on, we were partaking in a beautiful sunset at the farm while feeding the cows. 

We came home and had a Super Bowl party minus the Super Bowl. 

We ate like we were having a big time, but our tv will not tune into CBS (we don't pay for cable and just have an antennae.) 

I then turned to working on etsy orders and picked up my phone to see if I could find out what the must see commercials were, because even if we could have watched the game on our tv, the commercials would be what I wanted to see. That's when I came across the

 Dodge "So God Made a Farmer" video

on YouTube. I am not the type to watch videos or commercials for that matter. This one brought a tear to my eyes. Wow! It made me happy and proud to be a farmer. I have now learned that FFA gets a donation from Dodge for every time this video is watched. As a former FFA member, with a National FFA degree, I am thankful for a company that supports a very worth while organization and the American Farmer, even if I don't own a vehicle from their line up.

 

The picture above was a screen shot taken from the video and the point where my tears whelped up. Tonight, my husband and I were rewatching the video and he said "that's you." As a woman in agriculture, who comes from a long line of farmers, and owns a beef farm, I can see myself in this girl.

 

In  a separate conversation today, someone spoke of the "younger" generation as being lazy and not knowing how to work. I took offense because I am of that generation they were referring to, yet I come from a strong ag and farming background and we know how to work and have a great sense of responsibility and respect.

 

Whether in the country or the city, I believe more people need to be raised in FFA and 4-H and taught many life lessons. As we used to say in FFA, its more than "cows, sows, and plows." My ag teachers were  tremendous role models and taught us so much about life. We learned how to speak in public and how to fill out a job application and a resume the proper way. I was taught how to keep records and conduct a meeting with proper parliamentary skills, that professional attire was a must and a firm hand shake was essential. We were taught about responsibility, pulling our share and treating each other fairly. As I see many people applying for jobs in slouchy clothes, with a scribbly resume or none at all, I know if they would have gone through the ag program I did, they would have known better. I remember my school counselor trying her best to get me out of ag classes, when I had to politely inform her that I would not drop ag and that my ag projects would be paying for my college and helping me earn scholarships. In fact, I made money going to a junior college. (If you have more scholarship money than the cost of the semester, the college writes you a check.)

I was doing a little more searching and found out the original version of the video by Farms.com came out in 2011, featuring  a speech Paul Harvey made to the 1978  National FFA Convention. I hope I can find the full speech somewhere. As a child, I remember many a day riding in an old farm truck, checking cows or moving from one hay meadow to another and hearing Paul Harvey on the radio. Back then, I didn't always appreciate him, but my mother would never allow the station to be changed and we always listened to his stories.

 

Someone said they didn't see the relevance of this commercial, but they lived in the big city. This made me think back to the words of Horace McQueen -

"If you eat, you are involved in agriculture."

I grew up watching Mr. McQueen's Farm Show each morning as I ate breakfast before getting on the school bus and he made that statement on every show and how true it is. It doesn't matter if you are a vegetarian and don't eat animal products, a farmer grew your vegetables. If you wear clothes, you can bet a farmer grew the cotton. A farmer watched over the field of timber that was then harvested to help build your house or the table you eat at. You see, we are all involved in agriculture, in some form or fashion, from production all the way to consumption.

So today, as I move forward, working the land my family did, I am thankful to be a farmer and all that the farm life has taught me.

Celebrating 2 Years!

My etsy store turned 2 this weekend!!!



(from Instagram)

view full image

"My etsy store turns 2 today! I want to say thank you to everyone who has supported my shop and to all the wonderful friends and customers I have met over the past couple of years."

 I ordered this custom Gypsy Farm Girl rustic charm from an etsy seller before Christmas and made a necklace with it. I was going to hang it on my jewelry holder, but then dedided to see my shop name in lights! I draped it over my burlap and lace covered lamp shade and turned on the light.

I do appreciate everyone who has been a friend to me and helped to support my etsy store with a friendly encouraging comment or trusting me to create custom burlap and lace bouquets for their wedding.

 

When I first started out, I was selling caps and a few wreaths and then somehow I found my place creating bridal bouquets. These pictures are from two orders I have been working on this week for Courtney and Vicki.

Thank you ALL for your support and trust. I'm looking forward to many more years to come!