I’m not sure how much I’ve told you about my family. We’re just three of a kind – me, my better half, and my mini-me better half (a.k.a. my husband and 2 ½ year old son who is a spitting image of his daddy). My husband is a born-and-raised farm boy, and that’s how we want to raise our son. We aren’t directly involved in production agriculture, and I don’t think USDA would classify my garden as production ag either, but we’re as close to being farmers as you can get. I’ve worked for farmers almost my entire career, and my husband builds energy-efficient houses and sheds, and installs wind turbines, for those farmers. And, my immediate family is still involved in every aspect of farming you can think of. So I guess that lends a bit of credibility when I write about farm life and being a “farm mom.”
I do live right off a gravel road.
So now that you know what my husband does, I have to tell you about our conversation the other day. We were talking about how he builds beautiful, stunning, amazing houses, but I make them pretty. Please don’t take that as being vain, I mean pretty on the outside.
Just last week, I planted 50 Canadian Hemlock bushes, 1 red maple tree, and 2 Forsythia bushes in our front yard. Of course, there’s my garden, my new Jack-in-the-Pulpits transplanted from my grandparents (who are a stone’s throw away, if you have a strong arm), and the asparagus patch I’m trying to get started.
But these flowers. Aren’t they breath-taking? I have six planters on the front patio overflowing with color. I wish I could freeze frame them through the winter months, but then come next spring, I get the pleasure of growing something beautiful all over again.
That’s my version of outside decorating. Then again, my husband is from western Kansas where the only things that flourish are tumbleweeds.
Until we walk again …
The 2011 Alltech International Animal Health & Nutrition Symposium has concluded and with a resounding message to dream the impossible dream. Dr. Pearse Lyons took the stage to summarize what we learned and to provide some takeaway ideas that included five things that should be on your business survival action list.
As Dr. Lyons encouraged everyone to dream the impossible dream he was joined on stage by Dr. Everett McCorvey and University of Kentucky students opera singers. They launched into a wonderful rendition of the famous song.
I thought Declan Coyle’s presentation here at the Alltech Symposium titled, “Get on the Green Platform: The Life Changing Game Changer” would be about recycling and saving the environment. Wrong. He talked about different outlooks on life. He used as examples the green platform or the red platform. Green is good and positive, red is bad and negative. So he then went through a variety of examples to show how you can change your whole outlook on life by re-thinking on the “green platform” instead of the red. It’s not easy, especially when you’re facing a really challenging situation in your personal or work life. Hopefully we’ll all leave here making sure we try to think green!
The “younger” Dr. Lyons took the stage today at the Alltech International Symposium. He is Dr. Mark Lyons, director of North America for Alltech. He talked about “Game Changers: The 7th Step for the Health and Vitality of Mankind,” with a focus on future generations
The closing general session of the Alltech Symposium features a number of speakers. First up is Dr. Karl Dawson, 
“Friends have gathered to pay their last respects and tribute to one of the greatest ladies I’ve ever known. The sun is shining, because heaven’s newest angel smiles upon so many today,” wrote Lindsay’s former husband and business partner Andy Vance on his Facebook. Read his 
Discussion dinners on a variety of topics were held last night at the Alltech International Symposium. I attended the Communications dinner which had a focus on social media. Pictured are our discussion moderators (l-r) Damien O’Reilly and Billy Frey. I will be sharing an interview with Billy in next week’s ZimmCast.
