Be Bopping on the Prairie

Hey all and hope everyone is doing well and life is going as well as it can.

Carter is doing well. He had minor surgery to repair a heart murmur on Saturday, they went through the side and didn't have to do open heart surgery. The surgery had something to do with blood oxygen levels. I went down and saw him last week. I reached in the incubator for the first time and stroked his head and arm. Mich has a small cold and isn't allowed to hold him still but she is alright with that. She is very optimistic about his care, she trust the doctor's and nurse's to know what they are doing. She is much more stable in this than Matt and is overall taking being there pretty well. Angel has been there with them and I am sure this helps, Angel keeps Mich busy and takes the focus off of Carter all the time. Angel is doing well, she was glad to see grandpa. When I left she waved bye bye to Mich and blew her a kiss cause she was ready to leave with me, maybe next week. I have a mixed up schedule this week so I can't have her, next week I have a couple of days off in a row so I can get her then.

Lady B and I went out to eat on Saturday night and then to the wedding reception for my nephew. She told me and also texted me that she had a good time and really enjoyed spending time with me. I asked her if she wanted to go out again when I was in town and she said yes. I am trying not to second guess what is going on too much but we have a 2 way relationship and she is open about wanting to date and also interested in summer events and being a part of them. On the drive to and from the reception she opened up about some of her past, where her addiction took her and I told her more about what I did, not 4th step stuff mind you, just honest sharing about ourselves. She is easy to talk to and likes to talk which helps me out, since I have a hard time with small talk.

I drove back to Lincoln Sunday morning, I had plenty of time before I had to be at work so I took a 2 lane prairie highway instead of the interstate. I just felt like taking it easy on the way home, setting the cruise control on 60mph, instead of the 75mph of the interstate, also I didn't feel like the hassle of the semi's and heavier traffic. The highway I took added about 20 minutes to the trip and maybe 25 extra miles.

The old highway I took runs through towns which average under 500 people, with the exception of 3 towns that are over 1000 people. The highway runs through the heart of farm country, fields, pastures, farm houses, barns and steel grain bins, along with cattle and horses are the sights you see. Most of the old 2 story white farm house with enclosed screen porches are gone now, they have been replaced with more modern brick homes but you still see a few. The old houses were poorly insulated and the window weren't the best either, so I am sure that instead of spend thousands of dollars to fix these up, people just tore them down and built new. I love old farm houses, my dream is to one day own one, the inside were designed for simple living by simple people, big kitchens for cooking and feeding people, functional living rooms, bedrooms and bathrooms, no family room because the family sat in the living room or in dining room, bathrooms were made for getting your business done, get in, get out, not spending hours in them.

A lot of the new farms still have the old 2 story barns, various buildings and steel grain bins on them. The original purpose of these building is gone for the most part, they tend to be storage buildings and a place to put farm implements. The smaller buildings at one time housed hogs and chickens. Not too many people raise either any more, it has become cheaper to buy, chicken, eggs and pork from big national grocery stores than feed and butcher and process your own. I think people don't want to take the time to gather eggs twice a day anymore either. To me chickens are a great asset to living in the country, fresh eggs are awesome plus chickens are God's own pesticide, chickens eat a lot of bugs, they also make great garbage disposals, they will eat most food scraps and love vegetable and fruit byproducts.

The story of the old two story barn goes like this. The top level was used to store bails of hay or straw. The bottom level had a place to store grain for feed and also stalls for cows or horses. Milking a cow is a rare thing with modern farmers, once again it is cheaper and easier to buy milk in a store. A cow has to be milked twice a day, then the milk is separated from the cream and pasteurized but not always. We never pasteurized our milk, the cream was skimmed off the top with a spoon, this was real whole milk because you still had cream in it. You also have to strain the milk through a filter to remove dirt and stuff. This was all done by hand. Dairy farmers do all this by automation today, they have machines that milk the cows, the milk goes into other machines that separate the cream from the milk and then pasteurize it. If the barns are use for cattle today is because either there are kids in 4H who show them at county fairs or they are fed for butchering at a local meat processing place. Horses in this part of the state aren't that common any more either. They have been replaced by motorized 4 wheel all terrain vehicles and 4 wheel drive pickups. The north and northwestern part of the state still has lots of horses because there are more ranches, the ground isn't good for raising corn or soybeans. In this part of state is where you find real cowboys and not wanta be cowboys. Real cowboys and cowgirls are some tough people, their work doesn't stop because the weather is too cold or too hot, working with cattle can be hard work and their strength proves it. Real cowboys and cowgirls also raise a lot of hay which requires man handling as well. If you read admiration in this then you are right.

I don't mean to belittle modern farmers. I have a lot of respect for them and what they do, it is hard work even with all the modern equipment they have at their disposal. I was just writing about the contrast from the farming I was around as a young kid and what it has become today. I still have a fondness for taking a relaxing drive along a highway that takes me to a simpler life style. I still love seeing cattle and horses in pastures. I still make a mental note of who is raising hogs and chickens, it is in my blood and yeah I am proud of it.

I hope you enjoyed this little journey down the back roads of my home land and my memories.

Peace Love and Light to all!!
Scott