"Watching non-traditional farm girls learn to care for livestock, including working with their stubborn heifers in the yard where my great-great-grandparents and great-grandparents once lived by the old granary, blends the old with the new."
I’m many decades removed from being a child, now, but I have never lost my love for horses, and the West still has a special place in my heart because it’s where my dad grew up.
Whatever tops your list as the most important event of the summer, the equivalent of a large Christmas gathering, show up for it. Your example sets the tone for the next generation.
"As the 2021-22 school year came to a close at the end of May, I realized that I had made the transition from being a parent of a school-aged child to one who is watching her children navigate adulthood and that I am enjoying the new stage of their –- and mine and their dad’s –- life just as much."
As older kids grow their independence, they spend less time at home, depending on their parents. Katie Pinke shares her memories of how her mom developed her independence by riding her bike to the grocery store and how her daughters are growing their own interests this summer break.
"Last year at this time, when we already were watching the U.S. Drought Monitor turn redder and redder every week, we would have danced with joy to see even one of the storms we've had this year. But right now, at this minute, can it please stop?"
With a solid business plan, hard work and enthusiasm, agritourism can be an option to stay on a farm and create added income, all while providing others a connection to agriculture.
Losing the bank in town seemed like it could be the beginning of the end for the community. Instead, it revealed that there are still some business leaders who believe in small towns.
