Transformation Tuesday

Remember two years ago I shared a sweet story about a very special new baby calf? Well Marna is in with the cows and expecting her first calf at the end of month and my Little Farmer is very excited! I just love watching these girls grow up and develop, they are the future of our herd, the future of the Guernsey breed. Did you know that a dairy farmer waits two years before seeing any return on each cow? That's a long "crop rotation"!  Just like all mammals a cow must have a calf to produce milk. We breed our heifers to calve no sooner than two years of age, so before she is milking, we are raising her for our future and what she will add to our herd. It's a huge investment and a long wait, that's why their care is so important to us. We look forward to the day that each joins our herd and well some just hold a very special place in our hearts!

 

Something has to Give

Another month and no posts. Fairly certain many of you have given up on my writing, don't blame you! I seriously have had zero time with my keyboard and it breaks my heart! With a work force of four on our farm, my main job is caring for my family and Ladies. It is what is most important, and sometimes that means that something has to give, unfortunately lately that has been my writing!

There are a few changes happening here on our farm and I can't wait to share the details with you after we get some fine print ironed out. For now I am focusing on the every day with my family and herd! Although I am absent in my posts here please find and follow me on Facebook and Instagram: Guernsey Dairy Mama. I at least have time to share pictures and short updates there!

I am still here, and love sharing my story with you all.  I can't wait to get writing back into my schedule, but until then connect with me!

If you are looking for some great reading this month, many of my agvocate friends have taken up a 30 day writing challenge for the month of November. Check it out and follow along! I know I will be!

Until my keyboard and I meet again; take care!
~Darleen

Happy Halloween 2014! Spending time with my farm boys is most important!

Through the Daily Grind: The Passage of Time

I have a theme.

Where did the time go. How is it June, July, August, September already.

Each day clouded by an immeasurable number of diaper changes and tasks for every living being in my vicinity except for myself, I am always amazed as the hours seem to slowly creep by in the day. And yet, the Months, Seasons, Years so quickly pass by! How is it possible to be battling both aspects of the passing of time?

And how did I arrive here? 27 years have immeasurably slipped through my fingers and I look at myself in the mirror as an adult. When did that happen? A mother of two, a wife, a business and home owner, when did that happen? When did my babies sweet chubby cheeks and fat baby toes, lengthen and lean? From days that would never end, to wondering where the days, months, years have gone.

Time, it's hard not to feel it looming in the background. The daily hum to which our feet must dance. Always there in our minds, all we have in this life. It's immeasurable in ways we can't see, and yet always ticking away. On our computer screens, phones, walls, always there reminding us as the numbers cycle by. How many times have you watched it, hoping, wishing, waiting, wanting?

It's hard not to get caught up in the passage of time, as it leads such a role in our daily life. Yet it's not the time I wish to catch, to hold on to. I know my time here can only be enjoyed as a present, in the present. It's the moments.  The life in our years!

 

Changes Coming Soon......

In the middle of our busiest time of year; show season, harvest, the biggest calving month we've had in years, I got a crazy idea to reexamine my blog and the direction I want it to take. I love this space, it feels like home, but I am ready to take it to the next level. So hopefully in the next couple of months, you'll see a new name and new site. I've felt that I am lost among all the other Farmer's Daughters out there and am in search of my own unique name I can really own.
I so appreciate all of you who've been with me on this ride so far! And I hope you'll follow me as I take it to the next level! I'll be sure to try to keep you all in loop as things progress.

All the Best,
Darleen  

Capturing our Family in Photos

We just finished another amazing shoot tonight with the talented Heidi Helser Photograghy. I am so happy and excited to have found her and to have her capturing our family. When our first little farmer was born we captured pictures of him every 3 months. I loved having those pictures and seeing the changes as the first year goes by SO quickly. So I was determined to make that happen for our second little farmer. So after maternity, newborn, 3 months and now 6 months, I am so thrilled to continue to work with Heidi. If your in the Northwest and looking for a good photographer, I can' recommend her enough!!

I really love spending time with a photographer and the images they can capture. Those moments, those smiles are so precious! Usually being behind the lens, it's nice to enjoy someone with a professional eye. I encourage you all to find someone to work with. I promise you won't regret capturing your family in photos! Now to get some of these printed and on our walls! So sharing our pictures from this Spring with you all in anticipation of the shots we got tonight!

 This was such a special shoot full of so much celebration. Mason turning 3, Nolan 3 months, Ben and I being together for 10 years as well as our birthdays. April is just a big celebration and I am loving looking back at this special session tonight! Thanks again Heidi!

Northwest Farmer's Fighting Hunger Results

The beginning of June Dairy Month I brought to your attention the Northwest's Farmer's Fighting Hunger campaign. Well the results are back and I am so happy to have been involved in such a successful year:

So THANK YOU to everyone who participated and helped #fightsummerhunger!

Very proud that Oregon won this little Challenge, of course everyone was a winner in this situation. Hey The Farmer's Wifee, better have Washington step up their game next year! ;-) Extra thanks to her for helping spread the word! 

#WhattheMuck: A Lesson in Social Media Importance

Glad the boots on the hard working feet of our family have always been Lacrosse or Bogs. I don't have to feel remorse for supporting a company that in turn supports organizations that are trying to end our lifestyle.

New Bogs- Sept 2012, still going strong today!

That might sound a little rash, and potentially this entire situation has been blown out if proportion, that's my guess at least, but I can guarantee that The Original Muck Boots company is reevaluating the importance of their social media posts. 

In two posts they managed to create a total uproar and turn away hundreds of customers by "accidentally fundraising" for the HSUS. 

Despite your views of the HSUS, (if you do support them and fall victim to their sad puppy and kitten commercials you should probably read up on their recent status and donor advisory from Charity Navigator. In fact Humane Society shelters see virtually none of that money that is raised. Want to help your local shelters, donate directly to them!) this is a total reminder to all companies to be aware of who is behind your social media and have an action plan in place to quickly resolve issues should they arise. 

The first posts (which have since been removed, another no no in the virtual world) were posted on Friday. The company did not make a response to the negative posts flowing in until Tuesday. 4 days is an eternity in virtual time. You have to be ready to respond in an instant or things can get out of hand. 

People were honestly burning their boots in response!

And they certainly did. The response has been huge from their main community of supporters: farmers, hunters, outdoorsmen and agriculturists. Hundreds of posts across all social media sites, even to the extreme of burning their boots. Finally an official response was made Tuesday afternoon 8/5/2014:

Screen shot from The Original Much Boot Company Facebook Page 8/6/2014

Now we all hate auto correct, and tagging can sometimes jump, but for it to be guilty if changing The Humane Association of Northwestern Rhode Island  to HSUS and tagging it is unlikely. To further complicate the situation, RI stated on it's Facebook page that is has no knowledge of the donation. If this is true, Muck has just completely committed company suicide, you certainly can't lie about an already bad situation!! 

Horrible situation for a tiny donation that was meant to memorialize a coworker. Muck will be regretting these two tiny posts for years. 

So to ALL the companies out there; if your going to utilize social media: 

*Be aware of who is posting and decide what is appropriate. 

*Always be on top of any situation. Time is important in the virtual world. 

*Using social media is an awesome way to reach customers, one of best of our time. Be aware that ONE post can make or break you!! 

I have a feeling every company in the country is currently double checking their social media procedures!! 

Happy posting!

Update: 8/6/2014 Just a few minutes before I was ready to post the above (cranky baby did not want to nap today!) my friend The Farmer's Wifee received this on her story asking for the truth from Muck:

"Krista. I read your post and I wanted to respond to you directly hoping to clear up a lot of confusion. To be clear: The Original Muck Boot Company did not make a corporate donation to HSUS. Yesterday was not a good day for our brand, and especially not for our social media team who made an honest mistake by ‘tagging’ the wrong organization in a few posts last week. We are very sorry that a this mistake has caused some of our loyal customers to be so upset.

Corporate statements aside, here’s what happened…we suffered the loss of a colleague from cancer a few months ago. As you can surely understand, that’s never easy. In lieu of flowers, his family requested donations be made to a local animal shelter in his honor. Our colleague loved cats, so we know that’s what he would have wanted. The local shelter that was identified, the Humane Association of Northwestern Rhode Island is close to the Muck Boot offices whose primary mission is to help stray cats. To make the confusion even greater, when our Facebook statement was issued yesterday, the employee contributions were still being collected internally and not yet distributed to HANRI, the local shelter. We have since been in contact with HANRI and cleared up the confusion. They are thrilled to be receiving over $2100 this week in contributions collected by and donated by the employees – not from The Original Muck Boot Company.

We’re sickened by the fact that our customers feel as is we’ve let them down. It was never our intention.
— Sean O’Brien, Director of Footwear, Muck Boots."

I have not seen an official confirmation of the personal donation from the Rhode Island shelter yet, but their post saying they had not received a donation has been removed. 

Take note companies: social media matters!