Farm dog? Check.
Barn cats? Check.
Muddy work books lined up at the back door? Five checks.
We kick off our fourth season of “My Farm Roots” with the Renyer Family, five farm kids I had the pleasure of meeting last week.
Driving onto the Renyer farm, out in Nemaha County, Kan., I was struck by the many classic examples of a farm family. After being met by the family dog, a very sweet boy named Salty, I watched as the barn cats scattered and I met Leah coming out the back door, where the knee-high work boots were standing guard.
I was greeted by Mary Renyer, the mom, then introduced to her five kids still at home. (The oldest, Kayla, 21, is married and starting a farm of her own.)
Megan, 19, was home from college and told me about driving a semi to Topeka about two dozen times already this summer to “dump corn.” (Translation: taking corn stored on the farm in grain bins to the local elevator to sell.)
Eric, 16, said he was on call 24-7 for his dad this summer – that is, between basketball camps and games.
Leah, 12, was getting stuck with lots of the housework and still hadn’t decided on the name of her new kitten, tucked away in the garage.
Luke, 8, was working on a 4-H project with help from Megan.
We talked about several subjects – I was a little nervous I might not get a enough time, as they had to get to swimming practice at noon. But we covered most things and found a lot in common.
What you’ll hear in the piece posted above is something that my city kid friends don’t understand. It’s about how we get used to the fact, pretty early, that pets often are lost or picked off by prey or are sold off or become something wrapped up in white paper and placed in the freezer. (Yep, happened to me and my calf, Susie. A long time ago, of course.)
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