Baby, its cold outside

Greetings from frozen Tennessee. This winter weather has made life interesting in my medical practice and for our farm. Our cattle are eating more hay and grain, and my patients are having to reschedule appointments and we are doing a lot of telephone medicine. My wonderful hubby is having to bring me back and forth to work too as our road is covered in snow and ice.

Brian and I were pleased to be able to go to the American Farm Bureau Federation's annual meeting in Atlanta this past weekend, and we both have to admit that we were more pleased to have driven ourselves and been able to leave on Sunday before the weather set in. We had no desire to be stuck in Atlanta in a snowstorm. We were learning a lot and were please to see our friends from across the country. I was really pleased to have been able to attend the AgChat Foundations training on social media and proper use for Agvocating for Agriculture.

We met and made many new friends as well.

I know that this blog can seem fractured in post at times. And after our training session, I have put more thought in what I want this blog to do. I want people to see the real issues facing agriculture and medicine. By writing and posting here, I hope to provide a glimpse into rural life here in Upper Middle Tennessee. I think that unless people start telling their stories, whether they are based in agriculture or in my case in both agriculture and medicine, the Average inner city American lacks the knowledge to be able to understand our world and the issues we face.

Agriculture has been a late love of my life. I stumbled into this passion of mine by my relationship to my Hubby and our common interest in making our Beef Farm a success. Medicine is a calling that I have always had and am fortunate to be able to continue - unless Congress keeps trying to cut my pay - haha!!!

Looking forward to a more centered approach with this blog, but I will admit there will still more than not be post about my family as well because they are the real reason that I do what I do. So, I guess this post is my New Years Blogging resolution, it just took a bit to write it all down.

Been reading a new book...

For Mother's day my kids got me the Pioneer Woman's cookbook, and for those of you that don't know - Pioneer women runs a blog and website about being a city girl and mother of four on a working cattle ranch in Oklahoma. She is a blast. My family was amazed that I know who she was when I opened my book and even more amazed when I actually cooked the food. But, I really respect her down to earth opinions about her life and how she has adjust to it. I can feel for her - especially when she talks about her husband coming home covered in cow S%$# from working cattle and her love a wrangler butt - after all that was one of the first things that I had noticed about my husband....

But, like Pioneer Woman, I have really come to respect my husbands love of our land and our farm and our children. Given my day job, my husband has had the job of being with our kids most days too. I went back to work with both of our youngest too when they were each three weeks old - and my Farmer feller took our daughter to work cattle the first day and then to the hay field then next. All of my children have been on our farm since they could walk. They know what a squeeze chute is for and when to stay out of fields while Daddy cuts hay. And they love to play in said hay till they get caught...

I think that I have talked alot in this blog about the importance of being political active but now as there are critical issues facing Agriculture in the Congress, I think becoming active for our way of life will be more important than ever. Because, even though our operations are different, I hope that you can tell that both the Pioneer Women and myself are passionate about our homes and farms or ranches in her case. We want our children to have access to this way of life and bills like the CAP and Trade, Immigration issues, and the EPA navigational waters act will affect how we can run our operations and how our families will be able to keep doing what we love. So, if you have a love for your land or like me - have fallen for a fella who has made you in turn change from a "organic loving high heel wearing" girl to well - whatever I am most days - a country doc with farm kids who have a T-ball game tonight... Get out and have an opinion