My boss's boss is like 42, never married, no kids. Earns $275-300K per year. Goes on a minimum of two international vacations a year w/ his girlfriend. 10+ days, all out. Eats the best food, stays in top notch accomodations. Excursions, tours, nicest beaches, etc. Great guy, I'm happy for him. But what I've realized is that without kids, you end up chasing a lifestyle that has to continually be topped in order for you to be satisfied and find happiness. What he and others like him don't understand is that when you have children, seeing THEM experience life's most basic things and watching their eyes light up at all the "firsts", brings greater pleasure and joy than any vacation or travel experience ever could. Seeing THEM try blueberries for the first time is greater than dining at the best 5 star restaurant in Europe. Seeing THEM learn how to walk is greater than walking the Great Wall of China or strolling along the most picturesque beach. Watching THEM giggle uncontrollably at "peek-a-boo" tops any A-list comedian act. Seeing THEIR excitement when building a fort out of cardboard boxes and making a door big enough for daddy is superior to staying at 5-star resorts. Flying kites with THEM far outweighs excursions like parasailing or helicopter rides. Seeing THEM perform a recital on stage for the first time is more rewarding than watching a Broadway show or top notch symphony orchestra. ----------------- When you have children, all of a sudden you realize that life's greatest joys are not in the pursuit of things or pleasure or travel, but rather in the LOVE and bond you share with your very own image bearers. Seeing the beauty and magnificence and wonder of life all over again for the first time through THEIR eyes and expressions gives you something the world simply cannot offer, nor even come close.

This is why I’ll never be rich. I’m too principled to sell out. Dammit.

@SecRollins @usda @RadkeAmanda THIS is the sort of problem small farms face in trying to be independent.

The consumer will never see the savings this is foreign mystery meat is supposed to offer. It will get sucked up by the middlemen. Meanwhile, the market will be flooded with subpar beef and the gates will likely remain open to more of this in the future. American ranchers will pay the price. Buy local, buy direct, know your farmer.

Sad to hear of Wendell Berry’s passing yesterday. He leaves open a space I fear may never be filled again—the voice of the philosopher agrarian. One of his quotes that I often think of: “The care of the earth is our most ancient and most worthy and, after all, our most pleasing responsibility. To cherish what remains of it, and to foster its renewal, is our only legitimate hope.”

A quarter-century after my school years ended and September still feels like the beginning of a new year. Oh, January, will you ever get your due?

Little rhythms, like gathering the eggs and feeding the animals, have given many unexpected moments of peace over the years. Sure beats a commute.

Is 43 too old to go to vet school?

“Vegetarian fed” on egg and chicken meat labels = chickens are locked in a barn and fed a conventional feed ration of corn & soy, likely GMO & sprayed with pesticides. Here’s my chickens eating a pork roast to remind you that chickens are not vegetarians, they are opportunistic omnivores. That yes eat grains and grasses, but also bugs, frogs, field mice, snacks & the occasional meat scraps. “Vegetarian fed” is a useless label used by Big Ag companies to try to make you “feel good” about buying factory farmed food.

Let me butcher and sell my beef to my friends and family without being forced into a USDA facility that will bring the prices down. End the USDA

Here are some good looking chicks for you. None of them have tattoos.

yet its illegal to sell food to your neighbors because its "unsafe"

"We raised our kids, you raise yours." Actual words spoken by my grandparents to my parents. This attitude persisted through to my own parents, though to their credit, they are trying hard to undo it with my kids. I have few positive memories involving my grandparents—no wisdom, no legacy, no investment, no traditions, no relationship. This is what my wife and I are correcting for. We want our kids to stick around and to want to have a close family. We're all for independence. But that doesn't have to mean isolation.

Your local farmer raises a healthy cow on grass, butchers it cleanly on the farm, and wants to sell you the steaks. Federal law says no. The same government that lets industrial meat packers process thousands of animals a day under “inspection” makes it illegal for that farmer to sell you a single pound of beef unless it goes through a USDA inspected plant first. The workaround? You have to buy the live animal (or a share of it), then pay a custom butcher who stamps every package “NOT FOR SALE.” Because apparently once the cow is dead and cut up, suddenly it’s too dangerous for free adults to trade. This isn’t about food safety. It’s about control and protecting the big processors who love the regulatory moat. Small farms get locked out, local meat gets scarce and expensive, and you’re left buying from the same four companies that run the system. A free country would let a farmer sell you the cow he raised. We don’t live in one. In Liberty, -Michael

Kids of any age can work any job on a farm owned by their parents. That’s law under the Fair Labor Standards Act. But the real insanity here is the idea that a farmer is racist because he chooses to teach his children enduring values and a valuable skill set through work on the farm. The left simply can’t comprehend loving your children enough to guide them, challenge them, and prepare them. They hate the nuclear family because they hate themselves.

The local fair always refreshes my enthusiasm for rural life.

I got my first pocket knife when I was 8. Earned it by selling cards and gift wrap to neighbors with one of these mail order catalogs. It taught me a lot—sales, goal setting, working toward a goal, etc. Can’t imagine any 8 year old I know doing this. Or being trustworthy with a pocket knife.

Here’s another one for ya. $200 knife from a company I grew up admiring. Broke within 6 months under light duty. No problem—it has a warranty. 2 years later I still don’t have a replacement part or any follow up from the company. It’s not just about product quality. It’s also about company quality. Stand by your product @gerbergear

Coffee shop closes at 3:00. I walk in at 2:45. All chairs on tables. Everything wiped down. Kitchen closed. Espresso machine cleaned. I’d kick my employees asses if I knew they were closing up before closing time. I still ordered.