Fun away from the farm.

Since its winter time, it gives J and I a chance to get away from the farm a little more easily than in the summer when the responsibilities of planting, hay and harvesting keep us pretty close to home. (We are also VERY fortunate to have wonderful babysitters in T's grandparents). For the last 5 years J has attended the National Farm Machinery Show in Kentucky (because what else would a farmer do on vacation?!) in the middle of February. It's his big get away for the year and I'm pretty sure he started counting down the days for next year as soon as we got home.  I took a hiatus last year (having a baby sort of took priority at that point) but was able to attend this year.

Besides it being the largest indoor farm show in North America, it also hosts the Championship Tractor Pull.  Tractor pulling is J's thing. He LOVES it. He knows the ins and outs of each class, competitor, tractor, you name it. He travels all over the States to watch some of the biggest pulls. And when he can't watch it live, he is watching it on You Tube.

While its not my passion, the more I learn, the more I appreciate all the workmanship and skill that goes into these tractors. And I am just so glad he has a 'thing'. I think it is so important to have a passion for something in life, may it be horses, tractors, soccer, dance, whatever. One of my biggest hopes for T is that she finds herself a 'thing' that she can call her own (secretly I hope its horses... ok, maybe not so secretly.)

Source

I (stupidly) forgot my camera but please check out this site to see more amazing images from the 2013 Championship Tractor Pull.

One of the other things that was great to see at the farm show was Protect the Harvest. It's no secret that there are very mixed views on farming out there. There are many organizations that aim to destroy the publics perception of farming by presenting completely false information. I'm not going to say much more than that because this is something that really gets my blood boiling but I will say this; if you ever have any questions regarding where your food comes from, go straight to the source. Farmers, may they be dairy, beef, poultry, pork, or grain, are very proud of the hard work and dedication it takes to feed the world. Farmers wouldn't do what they do 24/7 if they weren't animal lovers. Please, ask a farmer before believing some ridiculous, radical animal rights group. Protect the Harvest's goal is to counteract these groups in the United States. Another great advocate for us farmers is Farm & Food Care, the Canadian equivalent. A well designed site with lots of resources... you can even check out a virtual farm tour!

Alright, off my soapbox (for now).