Ramblings Of A Redneck Farmer

12-31-17 Chapter 9--Happy New Year, Divine Intervention And A 1985 Ford F350 Good Morning!!  As the year only has a few more hours left in it, I wanted to pause a little and give some time to reflect on  the things that happened this past year and to count my blessings one more time before the clock strikes 12.  As 2017 started off normal enough it soon changed.  In January, we had a historic ice storm that knocked down miles upon miles of electric line.  We were without power for 10 days.  I soon found out how much money we would spend on just gas for 3 generators.  It was shocking.  Then on March 6th, literally all hell broke loose.......................A wildfire that soon became 3 wildfires broke out in this area.  Powered by 50-60 mph winds, tons of dry fuel and not near enough firefighters, many people lost cows, horses, fences, homes and livelihoods. Being in the middle of it and doing all we could do to save anything sure makes...

12-29-2017  Chapter 8--"I'm Begging You Man, Do Something About Our Defense" An Open Letter To Coach Gundy, Nice win last night, Coach. Three straight 10 win seasons, that's unparalleled success for us who are Cowboy fans.  I've been an OSU fan since I was 8. I went to my first game that year and watched Ernest Anderson run wild on North Texas.  I watched Leslie O'Neil, John Washington, Matt Monger, Mark Moore and Chris Rockins tear up Big 8 offenses, then I watched you, Thurman Thomas, Barry Sanders and Hart Lee Dykes tear up  Big 8 defenses.  I can remember listening to the radio , hearing Barry Hanna carry a South Carolina defender into the endzone in the Gator Bowl and I remember watching Brent Parker dropping the TD in the endzone against the Sooners.  I still feel bad for him.  Then came the Big 12 era.  Wide open offenses and 'bend but don't break defenses'.  I remember shootouts and big wins  and I remember ass whoopin...

12-24-17  Chapter 7--Merry Christmas Everybody Hello everybody, how are ya?  It's the day before Christmas and all through the house, well, all the creatures are stirring because we are actually doing our celebrating today.  This time of year makes a rational person wax poetic and count their blessings.  I wanted this blog to encumber what's important during this holiday season.  Contrary to what some people and businesses want you to think, presents are not what this time of year should be about.  Case in point, we swallowed our pride and went to WalMart on Thursday.  Aisles were packed with people, inconsiderate people, asshole people and while I didn't need a reminder on what Christmas is truly about, it still hit me in the head like a 2X4 that this wasn't it.  So  I  am going to try and help remind you what's important and what you should hold close in the next few days. I totally get the whole rational of presents for kids....

12-21-17 Chapter 6--Are Top 10 Lists Really That Cool? Hello Everybody, how the hell are ya?  One of the first pieces of advice I got when I decided to start my blog was to do Top 10 lists.  Everybody loves a list, I was informed.  Top 10 places to eat BBQ, Top 10 list of best movies ever, Top 10 list of favorite styles of underwear.  Everybody loves a list.  Is their even 10 different kinds of underwear anyway?  So hear is my first and hopefully not last Top 10 list.  Now some things on this list may make you wonder if I am sane, #IAMNOTCRAZY, I will prove it to you.  So here it goes............Top 10 Favorite Smells Of My Youth, in no particular order. By the way there are 12 things on my Top 10 list.  After all its my list. I can do what I want. Isn't it funny how  smells from  years ago are imprinted in your mind like words scratched in concrete.  Smells, both good and bad are related to your memories or vice versa....

12-19-17    Chapter 5--Why Does Everything Have To Be So Damn Perfect Anyway Good Morning you all.  Its 4:45 in the morning, I'm sipping on my first cup of coffee and listening to the dogs bark and raise Hell outside.  Must either be deer or coyotes close. Now I know a lot of people would be sticking their head out the door and yelling at the dogs to shut up so they could go back to sleep, but I figure they are just doing their job and besides how could this morning be anymore perfect .  That's not a question, that's a statement.  Its pitch dark in the house this morning, with the exception of the flicker of the flame from the stove and the brightness of the computer screen.  I can hear the pitter patter of our little Pomeranian's feet as she patrols the house looking for bad guys, then I can hear her crawl back into her bed and go back to sleep since her recon duties are done.  Our other dog in the house is on the loveseat snoring her mornin...

12-17-17 Chapter 4--We Are Making A Mockery Of Sexual Harassment And It's Not Right To start off with I am posting a disclaimer.  Please read the disclaimer before you email me hateful words, equate me with the porcine family or decide my family tree doesn't fork everywhere its suppose to.  Ok?  I've been wanting to write about this topic for a long time but never could get my words quite right.  I'm not sure I still have them right but here we go....................... I have a way of over simplifying things most of the time.  The majority of the time it works for me.  Black is black, white is white and for most things there is no grey area.  Well that's not the case for the sexual harassment movement. I hate to even use the word movement.  But the more I reflect on the word, maybe that's exactly what it needs to be called.  Now, I am not for one minute making light of genuine harassment claims, misconduct or assault investigations....

12-16-17 Chapter 3--Why Don't We Have Any Characters Anymore? I love the old days.  In fact if I was born 100 years earlier, I think that would have been great.  I loved the life, the stories, the dry sense of humor and the home spun innocent stories of daily life. I watched an interview by Johnny Carson talking to Jimmy Stewart the other day.  It was a classic, his slow drawl and homespun humor made me belly laugh.   People from the past, things from the past and events from the past really interest me.   It got me to wondering where in the hell have all our characters gone too?  Today it seems we have thugs, criminals, asshats and the occasional douchebag, but really no characters. I grew up in a great area where I ran into characters daily. Old cowboys, military veterans or just grumpy ole farts that seemed to have a story or hundred to tell.  Did they play pranks on people?  Yep.  Did they maybe bend the law on occasion? Sure....

Chapter 2--What Would Happen If Our Congress Had Dirty Hands Though you may argue, nothing feels as good as dirty hands.  Now I know some of you think I must have totally lost it, but let me explain.  There is something  good about getting dirt and grime underneath your fingernails.  Something primal maybe about having your hands so dirty, that when you wash and wash and wash your hands they still have this tint of brown, silver and grey to them. When you wash your hands and go eat a cheeseburger and your lunch kinda tastes like what you've been working on, that's what I'm talking about.  I was raised to shake peoples hands.  It didn't matter whose hands, everybody deserved a handshake.  That's how I greet people that I meet,  Firm, solid, I was taught shake hands like you meant it, not like you were a flopping fish on the shore.  So when you shake hands obviously you notice the others persons hands.  Soft, like the heaviest pie...

Chapter 1--Hello And By The Way Why is Agriculture So Disjointed?  Since this is my first chapter in my blogging life, I wanted to introduce myself and let people know who aren't familiar with my escapades just exactly how the hog ate the cabbage.  I live on a family farm where I am a 5th generation farmer/rancher.  We raise cattle, hogs, goats, rabbits and we will be getting back into chickens this spring. We are also starting a market garden this spring, so a lot of what you will read will have to do with vegetable production, fertilizer rates, and those damn squash bugs.    I am married, have 3 kids, 2 grandkids and my favorite sports team is the Oklahoma State Cowboys.  I know, I know but I am a Cowboy at heart.  I wanted to start a blog to let everybody know what's going on at the farm but also lend a common sense approach and a very dry sense of humor  to current issues happening in politics and around the world.  Oh by the way I l...