Young Farmers

Justin and I have been relatively active in agriculture; me, more for my job. Justin has always helped with the local canning plant every year and our former ag teacher got us to join the Turner County Young Farmers program. I felt like a semi-imposter but Justin reminded me that we have interests in having cows and I have worked in the ag field for nearly 8 years. I have truly enjoyed my time so far with this program. Dennis is doing a great job sourcing out programs and activities. Our first official tour was to visit Golden Peanut Company. I have lived in Ashburn for 23 years and for some of that time my house was directly behind the processing facility. I never once thought I would get to tour the facility and see how it all worked. I enjoyed seeing how they get peanuts directly from the farmers and buying points and clean, shell, and prep them for further processing.

  

Our second tour was to Sconyers Gin. Again, I have lived here my whole life and worked in the ag field for a while and have never seen a cotton gin in operation. My Uncle Louie works there and it never even crossed my mind to ask to visit. The whole process is very fast and efficient. I just learned that Turner County’s farmers grow some of the highest quality cotton in the state so that is exciting to hear!

       

My favorite event so far was the Georgia Young Farmers Association annual conference at Jekyll Island. I worked as much as I was an attendee because the place was filled with my colleagues and people I have known for many years. Justin even talked to a friend at the Georgia Cattlemen’s Association about starting a local chapter in Turner County for young people interested in raising beef cattle.

Dennis talked me into giving a speech about the importance of agriculture for one of the competitions and even to enter the photography contest. I didn’t win but I learned a lot and feel like I will definitely be more prepared for next year. I probably worried the mess out of him with my nervous questions. Not knowing what to expect is hard for a first-time competitor. We had a large group at the event and our chapter won the award for the largest growth in membership for this past year. I believe this is a fabulous organization and I can’t wait to become more involved.

Meet Gus

My friends at White Oak Pastures mentioned on Facebook that they had two puppies that were too human-friendly to serve as guard dogs for the livestock and were looking for a home for the pups. After talking it over with Justin, we decided May could use a pal to hang around. Plus these puppies were an unusual mix: they are Great Pyrenees/Australian shepherds. Justin said we can call him a Great shepherd.

 

We traveled over to Bluffton with a detour to see my friend Katy at her new home in Alabama. This shy pup was weary of us and the attention Wyatt wanted to pay him but he warmed up pretty quickly. We decided after nearly a week to name him Gus. It’s an inside joke that it’s short for August since we have a May, but I think just Gus suits him. He is quickly learning to sit, getting along well with May and Cinnamon/Puss in Boots the name-confused cat, and loves to chase Wyatt around. I think he will be a great addition to our family!

  

Work Lately

I love my job and the ability to travel all over the state to meet some of the coolest folks! I have literally been from state line to state line, north to south and east to west. I have hit all four borders of the state of Georgia since November. While the long hours in the car and being away from home get tiring, I wouldn’t trade it for the world!

Goodson Pecans in Leesburg, Georgia makes the most amazing thing ever: pecan butter. It is perfect for my little rascal that is allergic to peanuts and I can just eat it straight from the jar with a spoon!

 

I spoke to a group in Hiawassee about my experience in my ag leadership program, AGL, and told them about my job across the state. Of course, I had to stop in Ellijay for some fresh Georgia apples. The “pink lady” variety was just in season and it is my absolute favorite.

 

The Savannah Food and Wine Festival was a great time to promote Georgia Grown. I got to hang out with Yumion the Vidalia onion mascot and snagged up the last jar of Abby J’s sweet fire pickles. They are divine.

 

  

I spent a few trips meeting with my favorite girls at White Oak Pastures. I was able to stay at one of the on-farm cabins and even snagged a “locally grown” onesie for our newest addition.

 

I visited the E. D. Rivers house in Lakeland.

  

We also got to visit Still Pond Winery and Distillery in Arlington.

  

Gin Creek hosted a group I was with for a tour and tasting (none for me though!)

One of my very first clients Lauri Jo from Lauri Jo’s Southern Style Canning is introducing several new flavors this year. I bought two different ones to try.

And finally I got a new experience: south Georgia winter strawberries at Southern Grace Farms in Enigma. It was amazing to have fresh berries in January!

Tennessee Mountain Christmas Trip

I mentioned that we had a mini Christmas gift exchange at Suzi and David’s house before Christmas. That is because Mama and Daddy decided to rent a cabin just outside of Townsend, Tennessee for a week between Christmas and New Year’s. Never fear, I still got my beloved Chick-Fil-A calendar and card from Mama! It has become an annual tradition.

On the way north, we stopped at the Varsity for Wyatt’s first visit. Justin found an old-school barber shop and got a traditional straight razor shave and a haircut. Poor Wyatt got buzzed a little too short thanks to my miscommunication with the hair stylist.

 

We had a ton of fun but managed to miss out on a single family group photo. We had a house full: Mama and Daddy, Sami, Suzi, David, Liam, Aunt Patty, Uncle Roger, our cousins Phillip and Claire, and the three of us. We managed to not kill each other and the guys managed to down several jars of Smoky Mountain ({legal) moonshine.

 

I swore I would never take those old timey photos where you dress up like a saloon patron but I remember finding some from Justin’s Papa and Granny and the laughs they conjured up were worth the crazy experience.

 

We were on our way back from the flea market when Justin saw the helicopter service that we used for a tour on our honeymoon. They were advertising rides for $9 a person. I told him it was too good to be true but he called and that’s exactly what they were offering—a short up and down trip for about 10 minutes. Wyatt had never been nor had Sami so we took advantage of the deal and had a great time. Wyatt especially liked it because he got to sit in the front with the pilot.

Justin, Wyatt, and I got up long before dawn to visit Cades Cove in hopes that we would see lots of beautiful animals. We were blessed too! We got to see handfuls of deer, turkeys, and even a coyote. Wyatt enjoyed swapping between his binoculars and his gun to pretend he was hunting.

 

I didn’t get too many souvenirs. Most of the shopping I did was practical. I checked out the maternity store and stocked up on a pretty decent wardrobe. I was fortunate, however, to find this gorgeous tobacco basket. It is probably 4 feet square and I snagged it for $20! We had a great time and I look forward to seeing what other adventures hold for us in 2016.