View from the Cab: Spring break fun

By: Kent Casson

When you hear the words spring break, you may think of a tropical destination.

Not us. We think of fun family time on the farm. While others traveled far, we stayed home to play indoors and outdoors with the kids, make a few trips to town and enjoy time with Kasen’s new calf, Bella. As Kasen is in his second year of having animals on the farm for 4-H, even Kenadee and Kaislee are learning the value of hard work.

I admire these kids for getting up early during their break to help with the livestock chores – often times before eating breakfast, although Kaislee does wander around the barn with a small bowl of Fruit Loops most mornings. I am still new at this livestock stuff coming from a grain farm but I’m lucky to have a wife who is a former dairy girl.

Hopefully we will soon find a friend for Bella so we will have two calves to care for at our place. They really do become a part of the family during the spring and summer months as we all have a few laughs while leading them around the yard. While there may even be a few tears shed, the kids are still learning some important responsibilities and life lessons along the way.

I certainly hope Kasen will have a fair to show his calves at this summer. Last year’s virtual experience was nice at the county level, but nothing beats actually going to the fairgrounds with the animals. They often say you don’t realize how good you have it until something is gone and this happened for many of us with the cancellation of fairs in the state last summer.

Last year was a bit easier to run outside and take care of the calves since COVID resulted in at-home learning for several months. This year is busier since the kids are back in school, but we’ll make it work even if it means getting up earlier on school days or spending a little extra time outside in the evenings.

The kids always get excited about having new calves live in our shed. They were pumped to help me pick out a big rake at the hardware store the other day to keep the area clean. Rebecca even picked up some new pairs of work boots for them to wear.

We hope you all had a blessed Easter and made time for some family fun. While the temperatures were up and down during spring break week, we were lucky enough to get in some traditional Easter egg hunts and dine on delicious ham. Most importantly, we celebrated the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.