Country Learning

from our local paper, The Newton Kansan


PUBLISHED: Thursday, January 3, 2008

Authorities seek owner of black calf

The Harvey County Sheriff’s Department is trying to locate the owner of a black calf that was found Nov. 12 in the 4700 block of North Burmac Road in Burrton.

The calf is either a bull calf or a steer, 300 to 400 pounds with a red ear tag with the number 20 on it. Call the sheriff’s department for more information.

Or at least that's how I'm choosing to interpret the head-free rat left on the lawnmower. Looks like Sneaky has decided to keep us!

Several times in the past month we have been solicited to be adopted. We thought it was a good idea, but never acted on it. This morning we finally submitted our application and it was processed favorably within two hours. We then submitted a confirmation that we really did want to be adopted, which was viewed favorably.

We think that we may be officially adopted, but you never can tell with cats. This poor stray has been hanging around our rat haven (aka "granary") for the past month and today it really ate up the cat food and water we set out. But, the minute it saw us in the window, it'd run far away. The cat may be too wild for us to ever pet it, but as long as it helps address our rodent population, I don't really care! (If it was hungry, has it actually been catching anything? Hmmm...)

It's a pretty gray striped cat. We haven't been able to get close enough to see if it's male or female. We have tentatively named it "Sneaky" because it sneaks around the place.

Today I learned about a website, Country Adventures, that helps to facilitate agri-tourism at its best. I'm thinking of putting together a Rural Tour that would be $15 per person.

*hike through authentic pasture land with beautiful wild flowers!
*picnic lunch beside the creek, just like the farmers 100 years ago would have eaten!
*wade and fish in the creek, right beside the cows!

Then I would offer optional ad-ons for $10 more per person (4 person minimum):
*visit neighboring goat farm, family-owned pumpkin patch, or family-owned cattle farm
*ride in a combine or tractor in field of Winter Wheat or Milo
*help clean out an old chicken coop
*clear a hedge row
*plant flowers and tend a vegetable garden
*special requests? Just ask!

What do you think? Would you come?

We've been without power since Tuesday (December 11). Today we were informed that they hope to have power to us by next Thursday (December 20). That is exactly 10 days too many without power.

The people a mile away from us have a different electric company and they do have power. Their lights taunt us each night.

Luckily John was on the ball and got us on a waiting list for renting a generator early, and we won the generator lottery on the 12th. The generator runs the furnace, fridge, server, and one light. All for a mere $35 per day, plus gas!

Our stove is propane-powered so we can cook things using a match to light the burner. We do still have water since we're on rural water service. And the phone works.

What fun! It's like camping. I am not a fan of camping.

Jacob is very sad that our lights are broken. He very much enjoys turning lights on and off, and looking at a lit Christmas tree. At least he also enjoys playing with flashlights!

On the "bright" side, the power company people have been very nice. They even have a live person very nicely who answers our daily calls for updates.

When a rodent runs across the road do you:
a) try to hit it so there will be one less rodent in the world
b) try to avoid hitting it so that you won't have rodent guts on your car, or
c) say, "I've had it! I'm moving to the city where they don't have rodents!"

I'm going to take the lazy road to writing an entry, and send you over to read what John wrote. It's a long post with lots of pictures, and well worth the read. Click here to read it.

My office is located in the county seat of a very rural county. The entire county had a population of 13,299 in 2003. The nearest superstore is about 40 miles away. There is a Pizza Hut, but you have to drive another 15 miles to get to the next chain restaurant (a Sonic - is that really a restaurant?).

These small towns know that it wouldn't take much for them to completely die off. So many of them are bedroom communities already, with people commuting 45-60 miles each way to work. If you took away the schools or a major employer (like a nursing home)... Civic leaders would have trouble finishing that thought.

Because of this reality, the board of directors that issues my paycheck insists that we buy everything locally that we possibly can. They understand the value of supporting local business and keeping the local economy afloat. They know that our agency would not exist if there were not local businesses and residents to support us.

Today I went to the local Duckwalls and purchased 15 folders with metal fasteners for our volunteer training manuals. This purchase cost $7.82. If I had made the same purchase at the 40-miles-away WalMart where I was anyway yesterday, the exact same product would have cost $1.61.

How should we be good stewards to our community and to our donors? Should we pay five times the cost for products so we can keep local businesses open? Should we conserve dollars spent on office costs so those dollars can be spent providing services to the local children?

It seems that stewardship is always complicated.

Last night was the first significant power outage we’ve experienced at our new house. The power was out from about 8:30 pm to 1:00 am.

It was very exciting when I realized that we still had water. Yea for rural water! And, thanks to our propane water heater with pilot light, we also had *hot* water! After several years of well water, this was a luxury! I celebrated by taking a shower. Then I realized I’d be going to bed with wet hair since the hairdryer wouldn’t be drying any time soon.

The power went out while we were in the middle of getting a lot of rain. That meant a lot of water was draining into the sump pump, but the pump wasn’t running. I did offer to help John carry buckets of water outside (albeit an half-hearted offer). He let me sleep instead. Thanks, John!

I wish I could remember the name of the person who told me this story, his story. I met this man while I was spending a summer in Arizona volunteering with Child Protective Services. He was very excited to learn that I was from Indiana because it was in Indiana where he learned that all people are the same, no matter what nationality or socioeconomic status.

About 20 years earlier he had just come to the United States from Mexico to go to college. A friend convinced him to go on a road trip from Arizona to the East Coast. Being in a strange country, he was nervous, but agreed to go along. They stayed one night with friends of this friend in Indiana.

There the man was utterly amazed. These American children were playing with (lightning) bugs! He would have never imagined that children in the United States would do something that the poorest Mexican children did. Immediately he felt less nervous in this unfamiliar place.

He learned a lesson that night, and made sure that I understood it well. When it comes down to it, we're all the same. We're all human beings. We all play with bugs.

And now, every time I see lightning bugs, I imagine that scene in Indiana and remember that we are all children of God.