Trying my hand at digital scrapbooking

I used some of the photos I posted earlier of Morgan and used scrapblog.com to do this layout. I really have no idea what I'm doing, but I thought it came out OK in spite of that.

Answer: Pig Gel

The wait is over! I have the answer to our online quiz: What in the World is that Farm Thing?

The white blob of material at the top of the semen collection cup is pig gel. The gel is manufactured by boars as a stopper to keep the other fluids from exiting the sow after breeding.

And if you think THAT is the nastiest thing my husband has touched--then you don't know anything about farming.

A Bad Day on the Farm

Yesterday was a very bad day on the farm.

The tractor wouldn't start, so we had to call someone to fix it. Then, the hay baler got run in some rocks, so it was a mess.

Our new pig pens didn't stay up, so we had to rebuild them. One bright spot is that we did buy two new cows. And we did pick up a new tractor at an auction.

There was a little bit of trouble with manure hauling. And somehow, our farm was overcome by Morgan's tea set...


It turns out that even pretend farmers can have rough days. And in their effort to "keep it real" my sons have perfected the daily rhythm of farm life.

When something seems to go very wrong every day.

But as they say, a bad day on the farm, still beats a good day at school.

This Sums it Up

There was a little girl,
Who had a little curl,

Right in the middle of her forehead.

When she was good,
She was very good indeed,

But when she was bad she was horrid.

-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (and my mother)

What in the World is That Farm Thing?

Welcome back, everyone to America's favorite online game What in the World is That Farm Thing?

Today's mystery item is pictured below, it is small enough to hold with my hand, yet icky enough that I don't really want to touch it. It contains genetic information on our new boar but it can't really be read.

Here is a BIG HINT:

If you think you know what this is and dare speak of it in a public forum, then leave your guess in the comment section. One lucky winner will get to shake my husband's hand.

Field of Dreams... and Memories

I may have married into a farm family, but when it comes to down home family reunions, my family reigns supreme. There's no picnic shelter at the public park for us. We have built it (a campground in the barnyard) and they come (80+ this year).

My family is not so much about farming--Grandpa's farm hasn't seen pigs, cows or tobacco fields since the 60s--but about plumbing. So, of course, our country campground features an open-topped hand-made portable shower, with dressing room and hot water heater.


And in case you think we're all high-end RV'ers, we do have a tent section too.

We spend an entire weekend together and have developed many traditions, including a golf outing, hayride, games for the kids with golden toilet plungers as prizes, two big meals under our own tent, four White Mountain Freezers of homemade ice cream, and a pinata for the kids.

Over the past 19 years, this weekend in July has become the time to introduce boyfriends, share family gossip, exclaim over new babies, fight over Aunt Sandy's coconut cream pie, and renew the bonds of second cousin-hood.

Sadly, my Grandparents are planning a move to a smaller place, which could spell the end of the Family Campout. Somehow I think that we will emerge from this change with new innovations, new family fun, and new traditions. But our Field of Dreams will stay with us always. And if my Grandparents even understood the Internet, I would take the opportunity to tell them here: Thanks for the memories.

PR Idea of the Week

Every spring my husband makes sure to attend the pig auctions held by other farmers. No, he doesn't plan to buy anything--he has hundreds of his own pigs at home--but he goes to show support for his fellow farmers, knowing full well that the psychology of auctions holds that the bigger the crowd, the higher the prices.

And while there are lots of people there and the farmers are very busy staffing their event, they notice who is there. And they reciprocate. So later in April when we have our own pig auction(selling small pigs to 4-H kids and their parents), these same farmers are also there lending their support.

A similar etiquette exists online. Bloggers read the comments left on their site, then they reciprocate with a visit to your site, coupled with a comment of their own, and so it goes.

But how do you reach a lot of people or how do you reach those influentials who are way beyond noticing your comment on their blog. Enter "egommunication" coined by Rohit Bhargava at Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence.

According to Rohit: Egommunication is a form of communication where you can share a message or piece of content with someone based on their own consistent habit of checking mentions of themselves and their content online.

In other words, play to their vanity if you want their attention. Thanks Rohit. Great blog, Rohit.

The most interesting part of the egommunication discussion online was how many people were implementing the approach, at the same time they were writing about it. As am I.

I think the unwritten psychology of auctions holds true for social networking as well. If you boost the crowd at mine, I'll boost the crowd at yours. Even if it's just one pig farmer standing in the back.