A Thank You to All that provide Toilet Paper, Free Time, and Taco Night all year round!

The world is going through some crazy times right now. This virus pandemic is a bit scary and a bit surreal. OK, maybe more than a bit. We are navigating through uncharted territory, and no one really knows what to do or what to expect. As we continue to fall deeper into this unforeseen craziness, our focus on what is important is changing. I know mine is. For example, a while back I wrote a blog on toilet paper. I wrote about buying single ply instead of double ply. Today, my focus is no longer on what ply it is OR what brand it is. I feel lucky if there is any to buy at all!

This tp shortage still makes me scratch my head, but it got me thinking. What did people use before tp was invented? I asked this question on Facebook and the consensus was the Sears and Roebuck catalog. Before that, it was suggested leaves, moss, corncobs and maybe even pine-cones. Ouch. I am so very thankful for toilet paper. Especially double ply.

During my first trip to the grocery store just as the shopping craziness was beginning, I was a bit shocked by the buying frenzy I was seeing. Do I need to change my focus on how I shop? I did panicked just a bit when I got to the toilet paper isle, but I did not buy into the “tp panic”. OH I wanted to!! But my Farmer wouldn’t let me. (FYI, a week later he said he should have let me)

As I was walking the isles I did a mental inventory on what I did have on hand at home and how long we could hold out without coming back to the grocery store. I decided we would probably be OK for quite a while. We have a freezer full of meat, potatoes in the cellar, canned goods in the cupboard and there are some carrots still not dug in the garden, if they are not froze. I had 10 rolls of tp, double ply, and I do know how to make bread. Actually, I have pulled out my bread machine. So we wouldn’t starve. My Farmer could always catch one of our cows and milk her for our milk supply. I know he would love to do this. He loves milking cows, especially wild ones. NOT!! (it is the one chore he hated doing and I refused to learn) The one thing we do not have anymore are chickens and I do need eggs. My thinking to myself was; lets get some chickens and we are good to go to ride out this pandemic. We will start focusing on being more self sufficient.

Then I had a visit with my mother-in-law. I starting thinking, yes once again, and started wondering what it was like before we had the abundance of affordable, convenient food that we have today, or should I say, that we had a month ago. 😉 (don’t get me wrong here. There is still an abundance of food out there. It is just flying off the shelves faster and taking longer to get restocked. I believe.) I asked her what it was like when she was growing up. What food they produced themselves, what they bought from the stores, and how often they did go to the store. (the answer to the last question was not very often)

As she was telling me about milking the cow, gathering eggs, butchering chickens, making butter, canning fruit, canning vegetables, freezing pies, making bread…..my mind started spinning. Crap!! I need butter! I’d have to make butter! And cheese. I need cheese! And beer! My Farmer needs beer! I need my whiskey!

Maybe I’m not as equipped as I thought. It’s gonna be a whole lot of work to provide all our own food that we are used to having. I know we can do it. But it is so much easier to buy it at the grocery store. Besides, there are a lot of food that we have come accustom to eating on a regular basis that I can not raise where I live. Bananas and oranges for example. My Farmer really likes his bananas. What about limes? I like lime in my whiskey drink. And what about tomatoes in the winter time? We have to have tomatoes for our tacos! And guacamole! Ya, I need more than I can produce here on our farm, year round.

Even though we live on a farm and raise our own meat and potatoes, and a few other vegi’s, I really do rely on a lot of other farmers and ranchers to provide for me. I know for a fact that there are a lot of other people that rely on these agricultural producers too. Some less, others more. Which is completely OK. That’s our job as an ag producer. We provide the food that fills the grocery stores for the consumer to buy. I am very thankful to those that provide me with the food I can not or choose not to provide myself.

I am thankful for the dairy farmers out there that are happy to raise and milk those cows so I don’t have to. And thanks to the processors that receive that milk, separates the cream from the milk and makes the butter, the whipping cream, the half and half, the ice cream, the cheese, the yogurt and all the other many items so I can buy it from the grocery store. Including the sour cream for my tacos!

I am thankful for the grain farmers that love growing the wheat, oats, and barley and harvesting it. And those processors that take the wheat to make the flour that the baker uses to make bread and noodles, the oats for my heart healthy breakfast cereal, and the barley for my Farmer’s beer. All supplied at the grocery store for me to easily buy. Yes, even my taco shells!

I am thankful for the produce farmers that take pride in the produce they grow and harvest. And those processors that take the fresh produce to can it or freeze it and packaged it, or ship it fresh, making it convenient for me to buy at the grocery store. Meaning, I can have fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and onions for our taco night all year round!

I am thankful for the fruit growers that lovingly tend their fruit trees to produce the important recommended 3 to 5 servings a day food for us to buy fresh all year long. And the processor that freezes or cans the fresh fruit like oranges so my Farmer can have his orange juice every morning. They grow the avocado for the guacamole for my taco too!

I am thankful for the livestock producers that proudly raise and care for their animals. And the processors that make the many cuts and varieties of meat readily available, whether fresh or frozen, for the picking of our liking at the grocery store. Such as the spicy sausages my Farmer loves. And of course taco meat!

I am thankful for the loggers that carefully log our forests to provide pulp for the mills to make the paper for many, many paper products I can buy at the grocery store, especially toilet paper. And paper plates and napkins for taco night!

Honestly, I am thankful for every agricultural producer out there. There are many, many more that I have not listed. Whether they work 10 acres or 1000’s of acres. Whether they grow conventional, or organic. Whether they raise grass finished or grain finished. It doesn’t matter. They grow the food so others don’t have to.

As I read this to my Farmer for his approval (yes, I do that once in a while. only when it’s not about him 😉😘), his response was, and I quote….

“I don’t need to be thanked. I just want to be appreciated.”

my Farmer

SO! To all those ag producers out there, and yes forestry is considered agricultural, I really do appreciate all the hard work, dedication, and pride that you put into raising your product to provide for your family and ours.

Believe me, as soon as things stop being so crazy, I will go back to buying that loaf of bread instead of making it. That 4 minutes it takes to put the ingredients in the machine is just to much! I have other things to do! I have blogs to write, cows to feed, fields to plow, hay to bale, snow to plow, books to read, bars to visit, friends to hang out with, mountains to visit, campsites to explore, and grand-kids to play with!! I know……..focus. I just have so many things I want to do and milking a cow and making butter is not one of them!

As we ride out this pandemic, stay positive and healthy. Wash your hands often and be thoughtful toward others by keeping a distance. Be appreciative and keep eating! The ag world will keep producing.

I really do appreciate all the hard work my Farmer does on our farm. I know I could not do it. It’s hard work! I’m just his side kick on this ride. He is the reason I am…. Livin’ the Life, the Farm Life that is.