Last week we returned from a glorious nine day vacation to Lake Cumberland, Kentucky.  

Yes, we are one of those that traveled during COVID-19.  Don't worry, we spent eight days on a boat with just the four of us, so we were more social distanced than we would have been at home.  

It can be difficult for farmers to take vacations, but if you haven't been able to tell, it is sometimes harder for us to stay home than it is to get up and go.  

When we leave the farm, we don't just leave the dog behind, we leave a whole bunch of animals that need to be cared for. 

This week Isaac turns the Big 1-8.

I know...he will officially be an adult.  The good news is...he has one more year of high school so I don't have to give him up just yet.  

2020 has changed us all.  Isaac has lost out on a lot of opportunities, but doors have also been opened for him to do things he wouldn't have been able to do if this year had been normal.  

One big change is that he is now a working man.  Isaac has always been a hard worker,,,he just gets an actual paycheck now.  

His eighteenth year will be one with lots of changes.  He has one foot in his childhood and one foot inching toward his adult life.  

As I do each year, I sat down with Isaac to get some insight into what is going on in that head of his. 

If you missed previous years

17th birthday
16th birthday
15th birthday

I can't believe my baby turns 15 this week!

Time keeps flying by and he is making me feel older and  older.  

I asked Walker if he wanted to do his birthday interview this year, and he said yes.  He is definitely a teenager and had trouble getting past the one word answers, but I will take all the teenage conversations I can get.  He may not let me do this next year...

If you missed previous interviews...

12th Birthday
13th Birthday
​14th Birthday

The last few years we have had to deal with a lot of mud here in Ohio.  When working on the farm or trying to bale hay, mud is not any fun. 

However, there are times that mud can be fun...like when you get to play in it.  

Being cooped up inside with working and schooling from home was getting to all of us, so we decided to take advantage of the warmer weather and get outside to soak up some much needed Vitamin D.  

Each year I like to look back at the show season to reflect on what we have accomplished, but most importantly to look at what we have learned. 

​We have been at this Miniature Hereford thing for a little over 10 years now, but we are still learning.  Learning about cows, learning about showing, but most importantly, learning about ourselves.  

1.  Less is more

This year we went to a lot fewer shows that we normally do, and not because of COVID-19.  It was an accidentally planned decision.  

We had every intention of showing in the Ohio Cattlemen's Association BEST program again this year.  Isaac even went to Iowa to buy a heifer specifically to show this season. However, our plans quickly changed in November...just a few weeks before the season started.  

The BEST season usually begins the day after Thanksgiving and ends in March with the Ohio Beef Expo.  This year, there were some schedule changes with two shows being eliminated, including the one on Black Friday.  To be honest, we were really excited about the change.  It meant that we could spend Thanksgiving with family that we don't normal get to spend the holiday with.  We enjoyed it so much, that we think we will keep this holiday tradition going, even if they do bring back the show the day after Thanksgiving.  

When Wesson won Reserve Champion Bull in Louisville, we had to really rethink our plans.  With Denver being on our bucket list, we decided this was the perfect year to attend the National Western Stock Show.  

But then we looked at the BEST season schedule.  The first show was on gun deer hunting weekend.  The boys really, really wanted to go hunting.  You can see why here and here.  Then they saw that we would miss another show if we went to Denver.  It was then that we decided to not make the BEST season a priority this year.  We would probably go to one or two shows, and of course we would be there for the Ohio Beef Expo, but we wouldn't put pressure on ourselves for the other shows.  

You might think this was a hard pill to swallow for ultra competitive Isaac, but he was really the biggest advocate for not showing in the BEST.  We are all tired.  We love showing, but after over five years of a very busy winter show season, we are getting a little burnt out.  We knew it would be really hard to give our all for the National Western and still give our all to the BEST.  It took some time, but it was a decision that we were all comfortable with.  

As the season progressed, we really enjoyed some extra time at home.  Time to get caught up and just not be so rushed and spread so thin.  As friends would call us from the show, we would always hang up the phone and say "I am glad we are not going to the show this weekend."  As the dates came around for the few shows we had intended to attend, the boys just didn't feel like going, so we didn't push them.  

The end of the season was taken out our of control, and we really did want to attend the Ohio Beef Expo, but we are content with the shows that we went to this year.  

We only attended two shows all season (Louisville and Denver), but they were bigger shows that took a lot of effort and work.  We did well, had fun and were able to come home to rest, recover and enjoy the experiences we had.  

This doesn't mean we won't show the BEST next year.  My guess is that they will be itching to show by next November.  

2.  Denver is a long way away

It took us 23 hours to drive to Denver, Colorado over two days.  It was a loooooong trip. 

We were very fortunate to not have much bad weather and the trip was pretty uneventful.  However, I never thought we would get there...and I am sure the cows thought the same thing.  

We were gone from home for 11 days.  It was an awesome trip...but we were all very ready to be home.  

I am not saying we will never go back...but it certainly won't be a trip we take very often.  It takes a lot of time, planning, work, money and vacation time.  It is a trip we will never forget.  I can't say it's a once in a lifetime trip...just maybe a once every five years trip.

3.  Tackle that bucket list...even if it doesn't make sense

When we made the decision to go to Denver, it really didn't make any sense.  We made the decision to go about 3 days after registrations were due.  Part of that was because it was Thanksgiving weekend and I was too busy cooking for family to look into travel arrangements and decide if we could afford the trip.  

We got home from Thanksgiving and I started looking into the costs and what all we needed to do in the next six weeks in order to get ourselves to the show.  It was all very overwhelming.  The kids were in bed and we hadn't given them a definite answer on whether we were going to go.  I was getting ready to hit confirm on our show registrations and I looked over at Daniel and said "how are we going to pay for this?"  He said "I don't know...we'll figure it out."

So I entered the show.  

We started to make phone calls to figure out what we needed to do, where we could stay along the way, where we would park the trailer and all those other little details.  Every time we got off the phone with someone, we just shook our heads with that deer in the headlights look. 

There were just so many details.  But, we are planners and all that planning paid off.  We had some hiccups along the way...like driving into an ice storm...but everything worked out.  We had plans and contingency plans for those plans.  

As we look back at that trip, we have no regrets.  It may have cost us about double what we thought it would, but we will treasure the memories for a lifetime.  We have videos, memories, laughs, good times and bad times that no one can ever take away from us.  We are watching our kids grow...especially Isaac...and know that our time with them, and the opportunities to take trips like these are quickly slipping away.  From the moment I hit confirm on that registration, we knew this was the perfect time to take the perfect trip.

4.  Everything is different on another farm

While we were in Denver, we had the opportunity to board our cows at another farm for a few days.  We have been out West several times and know that things are different out there, but I don't know that it all really sank in.  

We live in a perpetual mud hole called Ohio.  We were kicking up dust clouds in Colorado in January.  We were very confused.  But, it prompted us to ask lots of questions. 

The ground is so different out there.  We squish around in mud and struggle with places to keep our cows because we destroy all the grass if we leave the cows out on pasture in the winter.  They struggle with growing grass at all and buy hay from out of state by the semi load.  They can only graze their cows one time on a pasture because the moisture levels and species of grass are just different and do not replenish throughout the year.  

We also learned that feeds are different.  The grains and feeds that are available out west are completely different than in Ohio.  So, we can ask someone in Colorado what they feed their cows, but it probably won't work for us here in Ohio.  Their hay is different than ours, which in turn provides different nutritional values, which in turn means they have different grain needs than we do.  

We also learned that the VitaCharge Stress Tubs that we can find at any feed store can't be found anywhere near Denver, Colorado.  

We can ask all the questions we want, learn all we can, but that doesn't mean it is going to work for us here in Ohio.  And what works for someone in Colorado, probably won't work for someone in Texas.  

5.  There is always a silver lining

Just when we thought we had all our plans made...COVID-19 happened.  We were a week away from our first show in two months...our last hoorah of the season...and the Governor changed all our plans.  

I will be the first to admit that I was angry.  So much time, effort and money down the drain.  Not to mention, we have some pretty awesome bulls that we were excited to get back in the show ring.  

But...it was all out of our control.  

If you know me, you know that I am a home body.  I wasn't all that disappointed at the slower show season this year because it meant I got to stay home more.  But, we were all devastated when the news came down.  

Right now, we don't know when we will be back in the show ring.  Our county fair hasn't been cancelled...yet...but we aren't allowed any face to face 4-H activities until two weeks before the fair starts.  

We have all lost a lot, and we can moan and groan about it....I have already done a lot of that...but it isn't going to change anything.  We have to find the silver lining...and there always is one.  

We will look back at this time in history and say "I wish we could have done...", but we will also be able to look back and say "because of, I was able to do..."

For us, we have been home.  We have been home far more than some have liked...but we have been home.  That means we are accomplishing great things right here on our farm.  

For now, the focus has been fixing up this old farm house we come home to (or never leave) every night.  The boys are learning to stain and paint...and Isaac has determined he will never buy a fixer-upper.  But...their rooms might finally get finished...for the first time in their lives.  

We have been able to focus on the health of our herd.  Again, that is always a challenge in the never ending Ohio mud season.  Being home all day has given us a chance to really examine our cows...to fine tune our program...to make things better.  

Why isn't she chewing her cud? 

How did that bull get in that field...oh, we need to fix the fence.  

Barbie is in labor!

And last night, Isaac and Walker got to see kittens born for the first time.  

As my mom always says...

This too shall pass.

Six months from now, I hope we are all looking at a different future.  A future bright with possibilities and another show season on the horizon.  

Our show season was very different this year, but we still learned valuable lessons..and most importantly...a lot about ourselves.  

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We have had some extra time on our hands lately.  We may not be staying home because we want to, but it has actually been a blessing in disguise. 

As you know, we tend to run ourselves ragged with jobs, school, showing and life in general.  This kind of schedule isn't very conducive to the farm life.  Many times, our busy life means the maintenance of our farm and herd gets put on the back burner.  The thing that screams the loudest is what gets done, and the cows don't do a whole lot of screaming.  

This hectic schedule is O.K. for a while, but at some point we have to stop and take care of the daily maintenance items before everything is broken and sick.  

I'll have to admit, more times than we like, we are reacting to the emergency instead of working to get ahead of the problems. 

This past week has been interesting...

To say the least.  

As the Coronavirus has spread, so have the cancellations of schools, mass gatherings, and life as we know it.  

Included in the cancellations is the Ohio Beef Expo.

But the sale will go on!

Bigger is better...right?

Well, not when it comes to cows...

After all, we do raise Miniature Herefords.

But, when it comes to equipment, bigger is better...or so they tell me..

Years ago...long before we had cows...a swarm of bees decided to call our tree home.  

It was the beginning of a new adventure for us. 

We bought some minimal bee equipment and fed those bees to try to get them through the winter.  We were then given a bunch of bee equipment that had been stashed in someone's barn. 

That small swarm didn't survive the winter, but we bought more bees and began our bee keeping adventures.  

Some years we robbed the hives, and other years, we just let the bees do their thing.  

One year, Daniel was stung in the neck and developed an allergic reaction.

That should have been our sign...

We didn't ring in the new year and decade with any fan fare or big parties.   To be honest, we all came home and took naps, warmed up left overs for dinner and then headed back to the couches for another nap...then off to bed long before the ball dropped.  It was a glorious evening of staying in and catching up on sleep we didn't realize we needed.  

I don't know about you, but right now I am a little overwhelmed by 2020.

It seems that every time I turn to TV, internet or social media, I am faced with goals, resolutions, organization and plans to master 2020 and start the decade off right.  

It's all a little exhausting.

2019 was a good year for us.  To be quite honest...I'm not sure I am ready for it to be over. 

I know big things are ahead for us in 2020...but I am still savoring 2019.  

I spent New Year's Day scrolling through pictures on my phone.  Those that have been around here for a while have seen many of the highlights of our year, but there is so much more that happened in between all these moments.