I was searching for something else this morning and came across the following video. This was put together by someone who apparently worked for Frederick Harvesting (Kansas) – members of U.S. Custom Harvesters, Inc. A perfect example of what we do! After watching…I’m ready to head south!
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OH HAPPY DAY!
The title of this post will only mean something to Jenna and the rest of my family. 🙂 However, we certainly HAVE celebrated a couple very happy days recently. I will attempt to keep the number of words to a minimum because I’m sure I could get long-winded. The number of pictures I’d l ike to share will make this posting long enough.
On Saturday, April 21, Taylor went to her very first prom.
She had ordered her dress online – in plenty of time – on Thanksgiving. When she received it, it was way too big. I couldn’t send it back to the “store” as it was created in China. So, the next thing we had to do was take it in. It was a job that seemed rather overwhelming to me but I was willing to accept the challenge. I had questions, though, how to make it happen and called upon a neighbor who had done dresses like this in the past for advice. Taylor and I went to Judeen’s house for help. Judeen, bless her heart, just took over the job. I think she knew it was going to be something I really didn’t want to tackle! And, I’m so thankful for her and what she did. You would never have known that dress was taken apart and re-sewn. THANK YOU, JUDEEN – you are a miracle worker!
The times…they are a changing!
The other morning, the Nesquik container was left sitting on the counter. This was a familiar sight every other week at one time in this household. Now, not so much. As a matter of fact, I had almost forgotten that it ever got refilled…that’s how long its been. This family is full of Quik fans. Nesquik used to come out of the cupboard every single day for someone’s daily drink of choice. Unfortunately, those days have disappeared. Funny how something that once was so familiar and constant just quietly disappeared. A sign of the times – the family unit, as we know it, is changing. I miss those old days!
Unfortunately, the number of people who have no idea where their food comes from is growing. If we don’t begin realizing the importance of teaching the next generation about the farm and agriculture, we could be in for a “whole heap of trouble”. After being to the East Coast and talking custom harvesting and combines (DC), I realize there are a lot of people who just assume their bread comes from a grocery store. In 10 more years, the average age of the American farmer will be nearly 70. Have we done too good of a job of pushing our younger generation away from the farm or will they step up and take over the job? It’s time we start preparing for the future!
The Storm of the Century
Yes, that was the way they were describing the storms that were moving into Eastern Nebraska on Saturday night…”The Storm of the Century”.
This particular tornado watch was being referred to as a PDS watch. Meteorologists define a PDS watch as follows:
“When the threat for damage caused by severe convection is unusually high, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) enhances the wording of its convective watch product with the following statement: THIS IS A PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION Such watches are known as “PDS” watches. PDS tornado (TOR) watches are issued when the forecaster has high confidence that multiple strong (F2-F3 on the Fujita Scale) or violent tornadoes (F4-F5 on the Fujita Scale) will occur in the watch area. PDS TOR watches are rare; of 3058 TOR watches issued during the period 1996-2005, only 7% (216) were PDS watches, When compared with regular TOR watches, PDS TOR watches should ideally be associated with a greater risk of strong or violent tornadoes.”
Chocolate Bunnies, Colored Eggs and Hotdogs
The day actually started the night before.
Brooklyn and Jillian came to our house to color eggs with the girls – minus Jamie and Curt – on Easter Eve. Once again…a tradition that started a LONG time ago! I remember sitting in my Harvest Grandma’s little kitchen (which actually seemed REALLY big as a little girl) coloring Easter eggs with her. I have a picture of the two of us somewhere and would love to find it. The girls try to make each egg different from the others by using crayons, rubber bands and great imaginations. The artistic abilities come out in full force. Sometimes, the artistry is so good that it’s hard for me to even throw those eggs away after they’ve been sitting out for days (and beginning to smell). By the time all five dozen eggs were colored, we had multi colored, polka-dotted, a bumble bee, a Mocking Jay (Hunger Games), a cross, and many, many more.
Unexpected Part 2 of “Leaving A Mark on His World”
It appears something happened with the video that I had copied to my previous post. It was THE reason I wrote that post. So, here it is and it’s worth your time watching!
Leaving A Mark On His World
WOW! I just watched a video produced for the USDA about Norman Borlaug and what he did for our world. I had no idea!
In 1923, Borlaug witnessed a demonstration in the streets of Minneapolis, MN where starving people were chasing a cart while men were dumping milk in protest of high prices. These starving people were just hoping to be given a portion of what was being thrown away. “Extreme hunger had more than just the stomach in its clutches…it strongly influenced the mind”. Norman knew he HAD to do something. And he DID.
While learning how he genetically changed the way wheat was grown and produced, all I could think about was the uneducated people of this country crying out about the GMO’s of today. If Norman had lived in this time, his research would be criticized to no end. An interesting statement that I read recently on another internet site stated the wheat that’s grown today “is not real wheat”. What the heck is it? The wheat that Mr. Borlaug “engineered” must not be “real” wheat either. At what point does wheat go from “real” wheat to “unreal” wheat?
“By 2050 the world’s population will reach 9.1 billion, 34 percent higher than today. Nearly all of this population increase will occur in developing countries. Urbanization will continue at an accelerated pace, and about 70 percent of the world’s population will be urban (compared to 49 percent today). Income levels will be many multiples of what they are now. In order to feed this larger, more urban and richer population, food production (net of food used for biofuels) must increase by 70 percent. Annual cereal production will need to rise to about 3 billion tonnes from 2.1 billion today and annual meat production will need to rise by over 200 million tonnes to reach 470 million tonnes.” (How to Feed the world in 2050)
How will this happen? By itself? No, it will take the same kind of passion and caring that was displayed by Norman Borlaug after he realized what hunger was doing to the people of this great country. Hunger…is it something that we’ll be witnessing yet in our generation? What about our children’s?
In 1970, Mr. Borlaug was presented with the Nobel Peach Prize. The Committee Chairman said, while handing him his award, “More than any other single person of his age he has helped to provide bread to a hungry world”. He left the world a better place than what he found it. What’s your story? How will YOU make a difference?
Spring? or Summer?
It’s 2 degrees short of being HOT today in Eastern NE. The past three days the temp has reached at or near 90 degrees. Although I am loving this heat, the flowers that I have waited for a year to return are not. When it’s spring, the flowers like the cool weather so much better. With the past three days of heat and wind, the flowers are suffering. The crabapple trees, cherry tree, apple tree and the redbuds are nearly done gracing us with their beauty. There’s been previous years where the flowers last quite some time before drying up and blowing away.
A few of my most favorite flowers are beginning to “pop” – the iris. The miniature guys are first to show their beauty and the intermediate are beginning to sprout their bloom stocks.
NOT “just a dog”
Today marks a sad day for me and the rest of the Zeorian’s – the first anniversary of the death of the very BEST dog in the whole wide world and the 7th member of our family. I STILL look for you when I go outside to hang up clothes, or in the garden or just walking to the post office. I miss you like crazy, Jordan, and think about you all the time!
“Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” Dr. Seuss (thanks Matt!)
