Purple F moves inside

My purple fountain grass, hereby known as Purple F, has moved indoors. It was just one of those ideas that had been crashing back and forth inside my thick skull, and the weather was so nice, I just needed to do some digging. So I dug up one of my two purples and put it in a big pot that had been sitting right next to the sliding glass door on the back porch. The pot was SUPPOSED to have herbs in it, but I never got them planted. So it pretty much sat there, all summer with nothing in it but some volunteer weeds.

I know I have tried to bring flowers in and keep them alive over the winter and it has never worked. I'm hoping for a different outcome with Purple F. It's still looking pretty good, as you can see, but then it has only been about 36 hours in the pot.

I also think its kind of funny that the magazine in the crock next to Purple F has the words "intelligent life" as a top headline. Of course, now I'm questioning if there is any cosmic significance to the juxtaposition of the two. (Remember, I talked about my thick skull earlier!)

Even if it is an exercise in futility, I can still hope. And here's hoping Purple F makes it through the winter and lives a long, happy life as a potted plant!

Dawn

Is Wednesday the new Monday?

I should have known it was going to be one of those days when I had to cut the ponytail holder out of my daughter's hair this morning so she could run out to catch the bus.

She came downstairs in a great mood, with her ponytail holder. I figured we had time to get it in, but then somehow I got her hair twisted and tangled and half-way through the dumb holder so it looked like she had half a mop on her head. And I couldn't get it untwisted, so I said, "I have to cut it." Not her hair, just the holder, mind you, but she was disappointed and in a hurry and crying as she ran out to the bus. I felt horrible, even though I kept hollering,"I'm sorry baby! I'm sorry!"

Went into the kitchen and saw her reading assignment on the dining room table. So I skipped breakfast, wrote her a little "I'm sorry about the ponytail thing" and ran out the door with her assignment and drove to her school.

On the way to her school, I had to wait for a train. Actually it wasn't a train. It was a couple of pieces of equipment that were apparently working on the tracks.

I got to the school, and saw her teacher walking down the hall, so I gave him the assignment, motioning wildly above my head, mumbling something about a "ponytail incident." He was very kind and took her assignment and assured me she would get it.

On the way to the office, I decided I needed a cup of coffee. So I stopped at the gas station on the way. I was in and out in about two minutes, but you know what? That two minutes was JUST long enough for me to have to wait for that same track equipment at the other spot in the road where I have to cross the tracks to get to work.

And this was all by 8:02 a.m. this morning! The rest of the day has been pretty similar. I told a coworker this afternoon that I felt like running from the building and screaming, and she said I should! That made me laugh, which helped me see that all this frenzied "stuff" that was happening was really not such a big deal.

It's like that line from The Terminator when the kid puts a big scoop of ice cream in Sarah Connor's (actress Linda Hamilton) waitress apron. Another waitress, who has witnessed what has happened, leans over Sarah's shoulder and says, "Look at it this way: In a hundred years, who's gonna care?"

Okay, maybe that isn't the best example, because they actually DO care about what Sarah does 100 years in the future. But I'm not the "mother of the future," (yes, I AM a Terminator groupie) so the foreboding irony of the statement can be tossed aside!

But suffice it to say that after a laugh, and this little blog rant, I am ready to retackle (My spell-checker is telling me that "retackle" is not a word, but it is for me, today!) it all.

I'll be back!

Dawn

I need a burger

Do you just ever get a craving? Today, I decided that I really craved a hamburger. I haven't made them for awhile. For some reason, I have kind of been on a chicken kick when it comes to food preparation.

But today, it just hit me that I haven't had a good, juicy burger in quite a while. So I ran to the grocery store over the noon hour, bought some ground beef, buns, onions (have to have sauteed onions) and cheese. Gosh. I'm drooling, just thinking about it.

How lucky am I that I can get a craving, go to the store and just buy whatever it is that I'm craving? Very lucky. In fact, I'm betting that a lot of you are lucky too. We just don't stop to think about how lucky we are to have the wonderful food production system we have in this country.

In fact, after I got back from the store, I read Val Wagner's latest blog. And now I'm feeling even MORE lucky -- and thankful -- that I can just "need a burger" and know that agriculture in these United States is there to provide. Thanks to people like Val and her husband.

Dawn

Kitten joy

The news brought a smile to my 8-year-old's cherubic face: Grandma and Grandpa have kittens, and they won't run away from you. You can even hold them.

So visiting the "cat shack" was a high priority this past weekend when we went for a visit. We had to make three trips up to the shack. (It's only a short walk through the trees, so it's not like we had to walk a mile or anything!) The first time, I forgot the camera and we had to get back after only a few minutes so I could make sure my bicycle-riding husband made it into town okay. The second time, the kittens were eating. The third time: The charm!









It was worth every minute of those three trips to see this smile!

Dawn

A zucchini in every vehicle

Val Wagner, mother and ag blogger of Wag'n Tales recently responded to a "tweet" about a lady fending off a bear with a zucchini by saying "There should be a zucchini in every vehicle! And at this time of the year, there usually is! :)"

It made me laugh, because it is so true. Big-city folks really miss out on the whole "sharing of the zucchini" ritual that goes on in rural North Dakota this time of year. The joke is that the only time people in small North Dakota towns lock their car doors is in the fall, otherwise they end up with a bunch of zucchini in their cars.

In fact, I even remember a news release sent out by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture last year encouraging people to donate their extra fresh produce food pantries, except for zucchini. I'm serious! Here is the link: Food pantries accepting garden donations.

People have really been pretty creative in the ways they prepare zucchini. If you haven't tried zucchini bread, you're really missing out, because it's pretty tasty. (Actually, it's probably the cinnamon that gives the bread the good flavor, but you gotta give the moistness credit to zucchini!)Zucchini is also a great filler in salads and casseroles.

But if you're from rural North Dakota, I'm not telling you anything you don't already know, except maybe for that first part about fighting off a bear with one. When you have more than enough zucchini (as most of us do), it's always a good thing to find a new use for it!

Dawn

Happy 98!

My grandmother is 98 years old today. It wasn't too many years ago that she was attending political conventions. (I think she was 95 when she attended her last one.)

I don't get to see her very often, but there really is a special little place in my heart that is reserved just for her. It's the place I go to when I feel overwhelmed or defeated. She was always such a positive force in my life.

I remember, as a kid, when my mom would get after me about leaving all my "art" projects half done and all over the place, Grandma would say, "Oh, don't stifle her creativity!" I'm guessing my mom probably really disliked that, but I thought it rocked! And truth be told, I am raising an "art project kid" and have said the very same thing to my little creator that my mom said to me when I was that age. And I fully suspect that my mom would say the same thing to me about stifling my daughter's creativity, but because they live 135 miles away, the projects have usually been cleaned up by the time they stop by for a visit, so she doesn't get the chance!

I liked to pretend I wasn't insecure about my looks, but I think my grandma always saw through it, because I remember her telling me more than once I looked like Miss America, even in my red swimsuit that I thought made my thighs look thunderous! I can't say that I took her seriously, but I still remember those words and how good it made me feel.

That's the wonderful part about grandmas. They don't have to worry about teaching you to be a responsible, law-abiding individual like moms and dads do. They get to help you feel good about yourself and the things you are trying to do, and maybe aren't doing so well. They somehow always manage to believe in you, even when you don't believe in yourself. And that's priceless.

So, happy 98th Grandma, and THANK YOU for a lifetime of love and encouragement. May you have many more!

Love and peace!

Dawn

Charlotte's web

I will tell you right now. I'm not fond of spiders. Okay. I actually dislike them very much, if for no other reason than they creep me out. Especially the big spiders.

Maybe it has something to do with the time a spider bit me in the mouth.

I am not making this up.

I was just a kid, maybe 11 or 12, and fell asleep watching television in the basement. I was laying on the floor, and must have been sleeping with my mouth open, because all of a sudden, OUCH, I felt a sharp pain, opened my eyes and saw a spider crawling across the floor.

I kind of sat there, dazed for a couple of minutes, when I noticed that my lip was feeling a little funny. I went to the bathroom and my lower lip had ballooned to three times its normal size. My lip reminded me of those National Geographic pictures I used to see of people who used lip plates to enlarge their lower lip.

Even though other cultures may consider it attractive, or deem a big lower lip a status symbol, I just deemed it a pain to drink water or even talk.

Plus, the thought of a spider in your mouth is, well, downright disgusting.

So I'm not particularly fond of arachnids.

Take, for instance, the one that has positioned itself on our back deck. My husband has dubbed it "Charlotte." I just call it "Yucky."

My 13-year-old son, however, admonished me last night and said, "She's not ugly. She's pretty." So I looked at "her" again.

Still yucky and ugly, in my book.

But my kids made me promise not to knock down the web, so I will just have to grin and bear it.

And I do have to admit, even though "she" sends shivers down my spine and makes me wrinkle up my nose uncontrollably, "Charlotte" catching the moon in her web is kind of cool.



























And, as long as "she" doesn't bite my lip, I'll let 'er be.

Dawn

Snow day

Last Friday, I said I liked rainy Fridays because it gave me license to be lazy. Well, I didn't come right out and SAY the "license to be lazy" part, but that's what I meant.

I really wasn't asking for snow.

No sooner had I posted my rainy Friday entry than the snow started to fall.

Seriously.

September 17, 2010.

Our first snow of the season (and it isn't even officially fall yet, I might add!)

Just check out my artsy-fartsy photo of the snow, and the green stuff it startled!


























I'm just not mentally prepared for this. Yes, it was pretty, but "pretty" soon turns into, "Can you just go away, now?"

I like my snow AFTER Halloween....

Okay. That's a lie. I like my snow AFTER Thanksgiving (I didn't want to appear too completely out of touch with my environment) and my spring BY the official start of spring on the calendar.

Thankfully, the little bit of snow that remained in the trees melted early the next day, and except for the photographic evidence, and this blog entry, I can remain in a state of denial.

And remind me NOT to talk about how I like rainy Fridays anymore, okay?

Dawn

Rainy Fridays

I really probably shouldn't admit this, but I kinda like rainy Fridays. After a long, busy week, the rain just kind of mentally helps me take it down a couple of notches. I guess it's my "excuse" for not feeling guilty about not doing anything.

Weed the flowers? Nah, it's raining! Vaccuum the house? Nah, that task is better done when everyone can get out of the house but me, so I can zoom around when and where I need to zoom. Cook supper? Nah, who wants to cook on a Friday night when it's raining?

So I called my kids and said, "What do you think? Movie night?" (I don't think I've EVER gotten a negative response to that question.)

So I think it's a pizza-orderin' movie-watchin' kind of evening. I'm ready to curl up with my family (maybe even that darn shoe-chewing critter, Riley) and watch a good movie.

Hope you have a restful, relaxing evening, just like I plan to have!!

Dawn

The book of noble professions

As a former farm girl and a communications person for a farm organization, I spend a lot of time writing about agriculture and how important it is to all of us.

I have no doubts about the good things our farmers are doing in this state. I know it sounds cliched, but I truly believe farmers are the first -- and true --environmentalists. Why? Because it is not only a living, it is a passion. You can't be a farmer if you don't have a passion for the job. And that passion extends to taking care of the land and your animals to the best of your ability. Otherwise, you don't make it. Not for the long haul, anyway.

And when you look at what a huge economic contribution farmers make to our state (agriculture drives 36% of North Dakota's economy) you have to ask why anyone would want anything but success for the people who feed and clothe us all.

In my book, being a farmer is the noblest of professions. And it's a book I will read over and over.

So I just want to say thank you to farmers for all the hard work they do to keep me and my family fed and clothed.

Thank you Katie. Thank you Val. Thank you Eric. Thank you Keith. Thank you Sarah. Thank you John. I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.

Dawn

Consumers are confused on how to eat

Boy, when it comes to e-mail subject lines that make you click through, the one that I could NOT pass up today was one that read, "Consumers are confused on how to eat."

Not "what" to eat, but "how" to eat.

Intrigued? Well, here you go.... listen to the audio link that I listened to when I clicked through.

How to eat

It's disconcerting to me that people are so confused, and are getting mixed messages.

I never once questioned how or what to eat. Do I always do the right thing? Heck no. I'm just as guilty of picking up a bag of salty chips for lunch as the next person. But I have always known about balance, and I like to think it's because I was raised on a farm. Living the farm experience really grounds you and helps you understand the life cycle and how people fit into that cycle.

So I guess it's our job -- the lucky few who either grew up on a farm or are still farming today -- to tell people the farming story and the wonderful, abundance of U.S. agriculture. You with me?

Dawn

Today's letter is "P"

Yesterday, I noticed I was using a lot of "f" words. Today, "p" seems like a good choice.

And that's only because I keep marveling at the power of petunias. They can make any old spot look positively cheery! And throw in a beautiful sky and you have the perfect picture (okay, it ain't perfect, but it IS "passable") to perk you up from any painful predicament!





























Dawn

Feathery front flora

I am rethinking my grand "feathery front flora" plan that I had with cosmos on one side of the porch and fern peonies on the other.

Why? To be honest, my front porch plantings were probably the worst looking beds in my entire yard. I think the cosmos had a fungus and the fern peonies turned brown at the tips and haven't grown a blessed inch. Most of the cosmos have been yanked out. The remaining few are holding their own and don't appear to have "caught" the fungus, but let's just say my front flower bed is pretty much an embarrassment at this point.

I was pretty much at a loss as to what I should do next year, because I was still clinging to this feathery front flora thing, when fate stepped in.

On Saturday, I was doing a little "fall cleaning" by taking the fake tree from the living room and all my other indoor plants outside to hose all the dust off them. After they got a good spraying, I left them scattered here and there on the porch and at the bottom of the steps to dry off.

From the road, that mish-mash of greenery looked unexpectedly fine. So fine, in fact, that it got me thinking.

And now my brain is swimming with ideas, and of course, I'm eager to move forward with the plan. But, alas, I will have to wait until next spring to put in motion this greenery plan.

You'd think with nearly nine months to work on it, it should be foolproof, right?

Right?

And, with more "f's" in this post than a math teacher's pop algebra quiz, I bid you happy FALL!

Dawn

Technology issues

You know, some days it seems like everything that could go wrong, technologically speaking, does.

Today is one of those days.

I have spent more time checking up on technological issues and redoing things because of technological issues, that I'm about ready to pull out my newly colored hair.

Yes, I color my hair. If I didn't, it would be gray and I'm not ready to be gray.

I will not, however, succumb to any of those youth enhancements that involve going under the knife. I once had a funky mole on my back removed and I about got woozy just thinking about what they were doing.

But I digress. Today I'm not happy about technology and I'm still struggling with it. So I just had to vent for a minute.

Now, I better get back to it, so I don't leave the office with this project half-done!

May your days be free of technological issues!

Dawn

Project organize

My daughter's closet was a complete disaster. Stuff piled up to the point that we could hardly close the door.

So, since it was raining yesterday, I decided that it was time to organize the closet.

And, we also decided that our 13-year-old could be the dude who put the organizer together.

I can't help but do a little bragging today. He put the storage unit together unassisted (well, my 8-year-old said she held a few pieces steady for him) But he never asked for help from his dad or me. In fact, he was kind of adamant that he could handle it himself. And he did, very well.

Being the proud mother I am, I really needed to commemorate the event, so I took pictures...

































It's not like he built the thing from scratch, but he had to use a hammer and screwdriver, and he also had to follow the instructions, so in my book, that's building!!

Actually, he's always been a builder. He was building his own creations from Legos when he was pretty little, and still comes up with some pretty cool things. And he is pretty handy with the hammer and nails.

In fact, I'm pretty impressed with the ever-evolving and more elaborate fort that he and his cousins built in Mom and Dad's shelterbelt (at one point, the fort had a toilet) on the farm. It was far better than any fort-building exercise I ever participated in.

And best of all? My daughter's closet is no longer a disaster area!

Dawn

The Slacker Mom posts a picture

My cousin took this picture of my little monkey during a family reunion this past summer, a mile up the road from my Mom and Dad's farm.

I can't help but smile and feel all peaceful and stuff every time I see this picture. So it's a good way to end a pretty hectic work week.

May your labors be few this long holiday weekend, all!

Dawn

Slacker Mom

So I get to work this morning and get on the Internet so I can upload this big video to YouTube on a Measure One press conference held earlier this week. There, right in the middle of my "home" page, right below the weather feed that indicates it's only 46 degrees (summer is definitely turning to fall) is a Wiki How-to about how it's Lazy Mom Day and tips on being a "slacker Mom."

Well, being the efficiency expert I am (I DO have some swamp land to sell ya', by the way) I couldn't pass up the link.

After reading all the tips on how to "chill" in parenting your children, you know what I realized? I am ALREADY a "slacker Mom." I don't do designer anything for my kids. (My daughter and I just made a trip to Wal-Mart last night because she had outgrown all her jeans that she didn't wear all summer and we don't do back-to-school clothes shopping, so after she tried on about five pairs of pants, I figured we better make the trip.)

They never listened to Baby Mozart and I'm happy to see them get dirty (although I am not particularly fond of it when they come tracking in on my just-cleaned floor).

I often hint to both my kids that they need to get rid of some of the old toys they never play with. I wasn't making much progress with either one of the cherubs, until my son spent a week at the farm. He came back, and suddenly was overwhelmed by the clutter of his life.

His room is now amazingly clean. (See how good spending time at the farm is for people?)

Stop doing my child's homework? Half the time, I don't even UNDERSTAND their homework.

And just the other day, I told one of my kids that being bored comes with the territory and rather than expect to be entertained, they should figure something out all by themselves.

See, I AM a Slacker Mom, with a capital SM.

Oh, I still get them all out of bed, harass them into eating their breakfast and getting their clothes on, and not missing the bus in the mornings, and ask them repeatedly if they are SURE they don't have homework, and sometimes look in their backpacks to make sure, and tell them to clean their rooms and hurry up and get ready for bed and brush their teeth and all that rot, but now I realize that's pretty normal.

So why am I still feeling so stressed out?

Ah, who cares!? I'm a SLACKER MOM!!!

Dawn

Cosmos crash

I'm not quite sure what happened, but my cosmos, growing incredibly well (dare I say almost unruly and weed-like) in my front flower bed, have started shriveling up and tipping over.

My first thought, when they started shriveling, was that they got heat stressed. My second thought was I had one of those diseases that you get when you don't rotate what you plant in your flower beds.

I haven't been planting them in the bed for too many years; this is probably the third -- okay, maybe it's the fourth -- year. I don't know. The years kind of roll into one another when you get to be older than dirt.

So I had a third thought. Do some quick Internet research. I did a search for cosmos diseases, and although I don't have a plant right in front of me, I'll tell you right now, if the culprit is bacerial wilt, I'm not going to be a happy camper.

I had this whole "ferny, delicate" thing going on in the front of the house with my cosmos and new-this-year fern peonies (which cost a mint and aren't looking stellar, by the way, either!) and if it IS bacterial wilt and I can't plant cosmos there again, well, I'm not going to be a happy camper. (I said that already, didn't I?) Well, that just goes to show you HOW unhappy this camper will be!!

I am pulling up the keeling over plants as they keel over, but there are a few smaller cosmos plants growing up behind the keeling over ones, and so far they look fine. So I'm going to wait and see. Smart or dumb? The jury is still out. But in the meantime, wish this camper luck!

Dawn