So God Made A Farmer: Best Commercial Ever.

Best of the night, hands down.

I'm telling you, this one made me cry.

It made me miss Paul Harvey, and the men of that generation.  

It made me remember his commentary, soothing, calming commentary.

As each one ended, it made you realize what a good place you lived in.

The photos on this are absolutely stunning, heart-breaking-ly stunning.  

And you know photos are the way to my heart.  

The truck was almost immaterial.

What a great country we have.

What great people we have.

What a sad thing to watch it being dismantled.

But for a minute, I forgot about all that, and my heart swelled with pride 

for those that work hard, 

and work well, and sacrifice to successfully feed and clothe us.  

THANK YOU, farmers, thank you.

Back Road Beauty: In Green...

This caused me to hit the brakes...just had to stop and take a shot. 

My telephoto is broke...waiting for the new one.

Take a Closer Look....

A herd of cows...

I wonder sometimes if you were trained to scan the fields when you travel, too.

This is what my dad always had us do...scan the fields for wildlife and scenery.

Shoes on a fencepost made me laugh right out loud!

Don't just look straight ahead, because you might miss something funny, or beautiful, or just breathtaking.

A gorgeous buck through the fog...

This particular day the deer were running, it's time to rut.  This buck is on the run...he stopped to look at me looking at him.

Does and yearlings...

And the big, beautiful buck is for sure scanning the fields for scenery...I'm sure his daddy didn't even have to teach him.  It's instinct!  Oh, look there!  It's a lot of DOES!

Contrails in the Sky @ Sunset

Tonight I was out at sunset.

But it wasn't sunset that caught my eye.

It was the contrails criss-crossing the sky, all around.

I was able to capture the most prominent one just for you to enjoy!

Autumn, so far is offering plenty of color to enjoy, everywhere you look!

 Take a little time and see what you can find.  :)

In the Golden Light of Sunset

Summer eases us gently away from her...

She goes so slowly, so carefully, that we sometimes don't even realize which day it was she left...

Sometimes you remember when you feel the whisper that the warmth of a gentle wind settles on your cheek:  "A fond farewell!" she says.

There are rewards for us in the dying of summer that gives way to fall.

There is beauty for the eyes above all in the fall...

Autumn is the time for golden light and beautiful shadows, vivid colors and deep aromas of the drying crops.

The ditches are filled with goldenrod and the bright hues match the golden glow of a sunset.

And it's all there, as a generous gift given to us by summer as she leaves, in her gentle way.

Color at the County Fair!

The craft barn is a favorite and the 4-H entries such as these are a work of art!

A beautiful showing of purple in the zinnia display, a color I haven't ever had.  

Perfectly scrappy and just like I want my quilts, this was in the craft barn, they are all displayed from the rafters.

An entry with four holidays presented...so beautifully.

A couple paintings that evoke a country feeling.

My favorite breed and color...captured all these photos with my old iPhone 4.

The only thing on my mind on the way home from the fair is a wonderful feeling of joy; and here's why.

A county fair is joyful simply from the formal recognition of the really, truly good things in life.

It's the happy sound of summer in the country, kids riding on the fair rides, moms and dads visiting with each other as they wait for their kids to come down the ramp when they're done.  Something time will not change.  That's a comfort.

The look on the face of a beautiful nine-year old with big brown eyes and wearing her barn boots, proud as she can be of her calf, asking me if I'd like to come up and pet her.  

The pride in a little boy's face as he leads his pig to the show barn, his dad's face beaming as well as he follows his son down the path--farming extends generations and for that I am so thankful.

On the way home, with a full tummy from the glorious elephant ear I just ate along with a cold pint of milk mixes perfectly with the sound of the crickets, the clouds moving across the moon over me, the smell of a damp field of alfalfa...a satisfaction like none other.

Life is good because of farmers.  

Summer's Golden Glow...

And with that golden light...

Happiness, contentment, satisfaction.

All these feelings inside, 

Aglow with the rays of summer's setting sun.

Simple Pleasures: A Green Cornfield

We have "corn-front" property.

For this season.

We are not the farmers, but we sure do enjoy this crop...this might be the fourth time in twenty years that we're going to be completely surrounded by corn.

Corn.

Corn.

Corn.

Corn.

Corn to the south.

Corn to the north.

Corn to the east.

Corn to the west.

It's beautiful!

And we love it.

The contrast of the rich green against the blue sky...is the best.

Ain't nothin' like corn all 'rowed up'!  

This corn is a little behind in height because it got planted so late in the season.  (Lots and lots of rain.)

The cornfields are like my ocean.  I can watch as it changes, from a new green, to a mature green.  I can see the sunset fall on the horizon of the corn, lighting up the tops of the waving crop in its glow.

The corn changes like the ocean.


First...


It's new young green vibrance.


When it tosses and the straw-colored tips appear.


When it grows ears, and matures.


When it dries out and is ready to go to the grain bin, then is when it is a beautiful backdrop to our life, with its pungent and beautiful smell that I associate with the smell of fall and of harvest.


What surrounds you this year?

A Little Bit 'O Sass: A FarmGirl Broach

My sister sent me a little envelope the other day, and inside was this cute little surprise:  a FarmGirl brooch she had made!


Don't you love getting surprises in the mail?  The kid in me still does...

It is made up of two different retro fabrics, just scraps are large enough for this project:  the flower shapes were cut with her Sizzix shape cutter, using three shapes of flowers, each with a different kind of petal.  


They are layered, five or six on top of each other so that as they "wear" they will fray and curl and look even more Farm Girl!  The pin is backed with felt and a pin back you can find at any craft store.

The icing on the cake, though, is the center of the flower, which is a vintage "bakelite" button, in bright red, which is the perfect accent for the aqua...I LOVE IT!


This is the perfect time of year to get the jean jacket out of hiding and I can't wait to wear this....thank you, Mary!  You are so creative and thoughtful!  

(Go here for another cute idea for your jean jacket!)

Back Roads Beauty: The Drive Home...

We got an early-spring snowstorm mid-week.

It turned everything into ice and snow sculptures.  Everything.

And, against that spring-blue sky, it all looks better somehow, and we can forgive it for snowing so heavily in the spring when the sun comes out!

We took the long way home one day after school and did some drive-by shooting --with our littlest camera, the point and shoot I carry at all times--on the slushy back roads.

I love back roads!  

How else do you stop in the middle of the road to take pictures of little scenes such as this?

And it allows us to stop to ogle beauties like this gal!

With triple tips, and icicles dripping from every branch, she leans to one side because the south side is less laden than the north side...

And here's her little twin sisters...beauties, too!

We head to the orchard to get some cider and then head home...

The scenes we saw made us think about "The Chronicles of Narnia" movie...so we went home and pulled out the DVD to watch, and I made "biscuit donuts" for a snack...

Biscuit Donuts

1.)  First, heat your oil

2.)  Use one can of small buttermilk biscuits

3.)  With your thumb, carefully poke a hole in the middle of each biscuit

4.)  Fry each; turning when the first side is golden brown

5.)  Drain on paper towel 

6.)  Place sugar or a cinnamon/sugar combination in a Ziploc or a          brown lunch bag

7.)  Shake three donuts at a time to coat with sugar

          (I do this over the kitchen sink so I can wash any stray sugar down the drain.)

Enjoy a COUNTRY COZY Weekend!

xoxo

A back roads believer...

Old Family Farm

Off in the northern part of the mitten that is lower-Michigan is the old farmstead that was built by my great-grandfather who was a French-Canadian. He had a hard life: his wife left with the neighbor man when my grandfather (his youngest child and only boy in the family) was just three. He raised his children, but never was able to finish the house. It still stands, and each block was made by him.

Great grandfather has been gone a long, long time, and so has Grandpa, by now my Grandpa has been dead for about twenty-eight years. Grandpa passed the farm down to his children, and my mom inherited the piece of land with the old house and old barn standing on it. (The outhouse is still there, too!)

I took these photos last winter on a trip north. As a child, my mom spent some summers here (Grandpa was a teacher/administrator/coach) and he had summers off so took the kids to the farm to live and work.

All that's really left are memories and big bucks who live in the woods and the swamp. Part of the land is still farmed. Mom recently worked to get the farm the Centennial Farm designation and the sign proudly stands in the front yard of the old house.

It's a beautiful place for me and my family to visit, and to tramp around in the woods and the swamp is a special treat, reminding me of trips with my family when we were kids so dad could hunt there. Below are shots from a week or so ago when I was up there and stopped by.

***

I WANT TO WISH MY SISTER A HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY!
Happy Birthday, Mary!

I had a really, really busy weekend that involved about sixteen hours of driving so I will tell you about that, hopefully in the next few days. Right now there's a pile of laundry that would fill a Honda Pilot that I must get to!

Happy Monday!
XOXO
Joni