Did you miss me and my emails?! 

 We’ve been enjoying the scenery, wildlife – and cool weather –  in Alaska and Canada the last half of August. We differently weren’t in Kansas anymore!

 We flew into Anchorage, took a train down to Seward to board a cruise ship. Stops included Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point and Ketchikan where we got off the ship to explore the towns and surrounding areas. (Look at the links to follow our trip.)

 It was fun to compare the difference in everything. Evergreens filled the landscape down to the water’s edge of the sea. The spray of the whale’s blowholes could be seen in the distance before they flipped their tail in the air for their next dive into the ocean. We saw eagles, seals and all kinds of sea birds that we weren’t familiar – with along with glaciers and icebergs.

 The salmon were swimming back to their origin to spawn now. We toured a fish hatchery to see the stages of their life. It was interesting that they hatch in fresh water streams, can swim out to a thousand miles into the salt waters of the ocean, and when mature (age three to nine depending on the variety of salmon) they will swim back to their original stream to spawn and finish their life cycle. They have better navigation than us even when we use GPS!

 Because of my love of flowers, Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island was my big highlight. It was fifty-five acres of blooming wonder!

 Weather was 55-60 degrees, partly cloudy with occasional light rain on our trip. I’ve worn shorts all summer, so it was different to wear jeans and a jacket in August. The heat and humidity really hit us when stepping off the plane in Kansas on our return.

 Now we’re back in Kansas and I’m enjoying the routine of home and work again. It’s always good to get away to see and explore new things- so you appreciate what you have back home.

It’s mid August! Where has the summer gone?!

 Students start school next week in many of our Kansas towns. And I’d say most kids (and parents) are ready to get back into the routine of classes, seeing friends, etc.

 Although we’re still having hot August weather, the evenings are cooling down as the sun dips below the horizon. The cicadas are humming full blast in the trees giving the call to late summer too. I think everyone is ready to switch gears, and is looking forward to some nice fall weather.

 Gift Shop Merchandise Sale

 I have one more project to finish this month before we take a break for the staff’s vacation time.

 Since we retired from agritourism after last season, I have some merchandise to sell from our gift shop that I want to move on to another gift shop or a pumpkin/maze farm.

 I’ve made lists of the Kansas, buffalo, and fall items for sale and I’m going to email these lists to gift shop owners I find through the internet.

 All top quality, but just a few of any certain item- so they would give a shop a nice selection without them having to buy minimums from several manufactures. AND I’m selling them at half retail price!

 If you’re interested or know someone else that would be, please email me through our contact page right away. I’d like to get these items shipped out by Aug. 18th.

 Last Saturday morning we spent time in the pasture watching the herd. The day hadn’t heated up yet so it was nice to sit on the tailgate of the pickup and watch as the cows sniffed through the tall grass looking for the range cubes that had been thrown out for them to find and enjoy.

The calves are starting to lose their baby wool coat and turn brown, a few spots at a time. They look rather unkept and splotchy right now, but by the end of September the calves will have sleek brown hair just like their mammas.

Ever learning from their mother’s, it was fun to watch the calves sniff the cubes, and maybe lick one. They aren’t quite at the stage of picking up and chewing one yet, but they know the older animals do it and get excited when they see them spread out – so they are learning it must be a good thing.

Because range cubes are a treat rather than a daily food, it’s a good way to train the buffalo to come when called. It might be for a roundup, or – if heaven forbid a gate or fence is down - you have a way to bring them back home to the pasture.

Think of it as the buffalo’s chocolate…

But before we started raising buffalo, I wrote ten books about Kansas pioneers. Now I’m getting them formatted for ebooks and the first three have become available as ebooks.

 is about my widowed great aunt, Margaret Ralston Kennedy, who moved with eight of her thirteen from Ohio to Kansas in 1855. They were involved with the Underground Railroad during the “Bleeding Kansas” era.

News Release from the National Bison Association

The Baltimore Sun calls it a “Bison Meat Stampede.” The Chicago Tribune says “Lean Bison is a Good Bet for Holiday Grills.”

However you slice it, pure American bison is sizzling this July. Growing popularity with consumers is driving demand for bison meat to all time highs, and is encouraging ranchers to expand their herds of all-natural buffalo.

July is National Bison Month, a time in which American bison producers and marketers promote the delicious taste of bison burgers, steaks and roasts as a summer grilling alternative. According to the National Bison Association, the growing demand for bison meat reflects the desire among many people to enjoy great tasting food that is part of a healthy lifestyle, and a healthy environment.

“There’s no doubt that people are embracing the great taste, the great nutrition, and the sustainable story of bison,” said Dave Carter, executive director of the National Bison Association. There’s nothing more all-American than a bison burger, or a bison steak on the summertime grill…”

We drove over to the other pasture to see the young cows and their calves this last Sunday. It was getting to be later in the evening and they were on the other side of the draw where we couldn’t drive closer to them.

 I forgot the binoculars and Verne forgot a bribe bucket so we just waited until their curiosity get the best of them. 

 Finally, the herd bull Clyde and the younger bulls crashed through the patch of cattails in the bottom of the draw and came across the pasture to check out why we were sitting there. After a little while the head cow brought the rest of the cows and calves but they still kept their distance, which is natural with wild mothers.

 Oh how much the calves have grown in the past month!

 The calves little horn buttons were showing and they were curious about who was in their pasture. Patches of darker hair was starting to show on their faces.

 There was one little two-week old calf in the group and it was so much smaller than the rest of them. Just like all “babies” they grow up fast!

 It was getting dark by the time the herd moved over to us, but I got a few snapshots to share with you. Enjoy the baby photos! 

4th of July

 We’ll be going to Lindsborg’s 4th of July celebration in the park Sunday evening. The local Lions club will be serving buffalo burgers (furnished by Smoky Hill Bison) plus there will be a musical program topped off with a fireworks display.

The weather forecast looks like it will be a nice day to enjoy the outdoor celebration. I hope you get to enjoy the long holiday weekend too.

Wheat harvest finally started last week after the rain delays. Everyone always gets antsy to get it cut and out of the field.

Fields of this winter variety of wheat were planted last fall. The seed sprouts and grows until winter weather sets in, and then goes dormant. When the weather warms up in the spring it grows again to maturity when it sets seed in the head.

The moisture content of the seed must be below 14% before it can be cut. Then it’s a race to get it out of the fields before rain or thunderstorms delay or ruin the crop.

It was estimated by one farmer that his costs were $200 per acre this year. So to make money he needed to get 50 bushels from each acre and to sell it above $4 per bushel. (Right now the price is $3.73 at our local grain elevator so let’s hope for higher prices and high yields.)

Kansas has long been known as the “Wheat State”, and with good reason since Kansas is one of the nation’s leading wheat producer with records of wheat production actually pre-dating its 1861 statehood. There are indications that wheat was produced in the area as early as 1839.

On Aug. 16, 1874, a group of Russian Mennonite farmers arrived in south central Kansas with bags of hardy Turkey Red winter wheat. This variety of wheat, which had been grown on the steppes of the Ukraine, is generally credited with turning the Great Plains into the nation’s breadbasket.

If you’d like to read more about the history of our Kansas wheat harvest, please go to the Kansas State Historical Society website.

Family Tradition

When I was growing up, wheat was harvested with a small combine with no protection for the driver from the blowing dirt, chaff and sun, and we drove our pickup, or tractor and wagon, to the elevator to deliver the wheat.

The combine would auger the wheat into the truck, one of us kids would drive it to the elevator to unload it, and then we’d drive back to the field for the next load. Mom would fix meals and we’d bring it out to the field for Dad. The combine was shut off and we’d sit in it’s shadow to eat and rest together.

When my parents were children there were threshing crews that went around the neighborhood to thresh the wheat. Rarely did every farmer have their own threshing equipment as it was expensive and neighbors just shared equipment. Then women would fix meals for the whole crew that could stop and come into the farm home for a meal and rest before continuing the manual labor of harvesting in the hot sun.

Now days there are air conditioned combines and big semi trucks to cut and haul the wheat. Families still work together but it’s at a quicker pace. My dad stops to come into the house to eat lunch, but my brother and his help usually just eat a sandwich while still working.

Technology has changed wheat harvest just like it has changed everything else, but its still an important crop and family tradition. So please think of Kansas and our current wheat harvest when you eat your next meal. I’m sure it will have something made with wheat in it!

Midsummer’s Day in Lindsborg, Kansas

We’ve had a series of storms and over 5 inches of rain since last weekend, causing flooding and now very hot and humid weather. It’s supposed to be up to 98 degrees by Saturday.
 
That will make a hot weekend for our town’s Midsummer’s Day festival.
 
I’ve always wondered what my Swedish ancestors thought of the heat and humidity their first summer in Kansas. It must have been a real shock coming from their northern country.
 
I don’t have a booth this year at the outdoor festival, but I plan to visit to enjoy it as a spectator. If you’re in the state, plan to join in our Swedish fun of celebrating the longest day of the year.
 
Hot Buffalo
 
I think about, and feel for animals when they are out in the open in this heat. The calves still have their baby wool coat on, and they try to stay in the shade of their moms when possible.
 
They prefer to stay out in the open where they can see what’s around them instead of heading for trees, so they are just used to the heat.
 
Buffalo don’t stand in ponds like cattle will but they sure enjoy walking through mud when its hot. There’s a reason they push and slosh the water tank around- to make cool spot to cool down their feet.

It’s a fact: Guys like meat, and they love to grill! 

 So here’s some ideas for this Father’s Day weekend, both for the grilling, and the gift.

For meat may I suggest the new Buffalo Griller Special I just posted on the website. It’s a combination of 6 lbs. of a combination of our brats, franks and German sausage, plus 4 lbs of our buffalo patties.

If you want to use ground burger and make your own patties, try this following recipe.

Sour Cream Buffalo Burgers

• 2 pounds Smoky Hill Bison ground burger 
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Directions 

1. In a large bowl, mix together the ground bison, sour cream, onion soup mix, bread crumbs and pepper using your hands. Refrigerate while you heat up the grill so the flavors have a chance to blend.
2. Preheat a grill for medium heat. Form the ground buffalo into 8 balls, and flatten into patties. Grill the patties for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until well done.