The Gift of Remembering

This article was published as part of the Our Rural Roots column for Progressive Farmer. For many people, the holidays are a joyful time filled with gifts, treats, and family.  But for those who have lost loved ones, especially those who have lost someone within the last year, the holidays can be really difficult.  I am

A “Get To” Life

This article was initially published as part of the Our Rural Roots Column for Progressive Farmer. We were recently in Reno showing at the Nugget All-American sheep show and sale. At the beginning of the sale, they bring all of the breed champions to the stage, play the song “Auctioneer” and lift the curtain for

Be a Good Neighbor

This post was written as part of the Our Rural Roots column for Progressive Farmer. It was late one evening as we were driving home from checking cows. Everyone was tired. That’s when we saw our neighbors’ cows were out on the road. We immediately started to help gather them. It’s what neighbors do. It

Hope Remains

This article was initially published as part of the Our Rural Roots column for Progressive Farmer. As I write this, the wind is blowing at sustained speeds of 45 miles per hour with gusts even higher. The sky is brown from all the dust in the air. Stubble from the sorghum field north of our

Let Grief Open Hearts

This article was published in Progressive Farmer as part of their Our Rural Roots column. The end of 2021 was filled with loss for our family. The two most profound being our 13-year-old neighbor, Kooper, who died in a car accident, our 28-year-old saint of a quarter horse, Lou. I’ve read articles about how farm

Ride For Your Life

This article was published as part of Our Rural Roots with Progressive Farmer. I recently purchased one of those ridiculously expensive exercise bikes. I debated for months about spending the money on something like this for myself. There were so many other purchases I could make: feed or a new ewe. We could have put

Microwaved S’mores & the Shores of Lake Tahoe

This article was written as part of Progressive Farmer’s Our Rural Roots. On a family vacation to a sheep show (do other people actually take family vacations without involving a stock trailer?), I watched my kids hiking the trails and playing on the sandy beaches of Lake Tahoe. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was the

It’s Just What Farmers Do

This was published with the Our Rural Roots column for Progressive Farmer magazine. Recently, we were at a small family gathering. I looked over to find my four-year-old son, pants around his ankles, going potty in the yard. I rushed over to find out what in the actual world he was doing! He responded, “Well,

Sunday Nights Make Memories

This article was published with the Progressive Farmer Our Rural Roots series. Under quarantine, the days started to run together, and life began to feel mundane. The kids were going stir crazy locked up at home and, if I am honest, so were their parents. So, in an attempt to find some fun and salvage

The Gift of Gratitude

I published this article as part of the Our Rural Roots Column for Progressive Farmer Magazine. Well…2020 has been quite a year.  A number of people have lamented about all of the negatives the last 365 days have brought and cannot wait to kiss this trip around the sun goodbye.  While I understand the sentiment,