Ashley Reding - Preview of Tonight's Segment!
Well, the time has come. For those of you who know me only through this blog, you will now get to see my family and me on America’s Heartland, Episode 603 airing tonight on RFD-TV! That’s right. You will soon be able to combine my face with my (mild) Kentucky accent. (The show can also be viewed on local PBS stations and later this week on www.americasheartland.org.)
It is hard to believe that it is the end of September and we are still in the mid-90’s. One of my first blogs was about the flood we experienced in May. Last time I spoke of rain being feast or famine. All in all, it was a very, very dry season. Because of the lack of rain, the corn dried out and was ready to harvest sooner than normal. At this point, we have already harvested over 50% of our corn. Bean harvest and subsequent wheat planting should begin the first full week of October. Things are rolling right along!
This has been one of the least stressful falls that I can remember. Not that there isn’t a lot going on, but we have such a great group of guys (and girls!) out there in the field. Aaron tends to divide his time between the office and the combine. Like many of us, he often needs to be in two places at one time. All I can say is that his cell phone plan has unlimited text and talk time for a reason!
Speaking of Aaron, it is time that I address something that I have avoided in my blog to this point. Since our segment on America’s Heartland is airing soon, I wanted to go ahead and write about it since we talk about it a little during the show. About six years ago, Aaron began having weakness in his right calf muscle. After six years and about that many neurologists, Aaron was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, this spring.
The weakness has severely affected his right leg and, therefore, his ability to get around as easily as he used to. Please don’t think this has stopped MY husband! Quite the contrary, Aaron is as focused and determined as ever. While an ALS diagnosis is never good news, there are many positives in our situation. We are blessed to have the care and support of our family and friends, of course. Additionally, Aaron’s symptoms are progressing very slowly. While that made it frustrating to get a diagnosis, it is a blessing knowing that this disease will not progress rapidly. Aaron and I remain faithful and committed to God’s plan for us. I am not saying that every day is easy, but we are at peace and moving forward with the wonderful life we have been given.
All of that hard work has not been missed by “the little people” in the house either. Earlier this week Kathryn asked if our farm had a slogan. I told her no and asked if she had thought of one. She said, “Determination, sweat, and hard work.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. While it won’t be on any of our marketing material, she definitely pegged the “corporate culture.”
Andrew remains as committed as ever to his future farming profession. He absolutely loves school, but would miss every day if he could ride in the combine with his dad. Andrew can tell you the model number of every combine, tractor, and implement on our farm and on Aaron’s brother’s farm in Iowa. Adam has just turned two and loves reading about and playing with tractors, but he is a bit intimidated by their size and noise, so he still hangs with me in the van when we visit the field.
My harvest pictures are non-existent. I will add some to the Flickr link later this week. The ones I have included are of us in front of our Dodge Ram truck and in our new Case IH Scout. We won the Scout from the Kentucky Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest. The truck was the prize for winning the national Farm Bureau Achievement Award. We had to wait a while for delivery, but we are enjoying our “toys.” We are thankful to Farm Bureau and their sponsors for these nice prizes. I have also included one of Aaron and Andrew on the platform of the combine – or, as Andrew would say, “the John Deere 9770 STS combine with the 612C corn head.”
Well, stay tuned. Our show airs tonight, but the blog will continue through harvest and wheat planting. At this rate, that won’t be too long!
It is hard to believe that it is the end of September and we are still in the mid-90’s. One of my first blogs was about the flood we experienced in May. Last time I spoke of rain being feast or famine. All in all, it was a very, very dry season. Because of the lack of rain, the corn dried out and was ready to harvest sooner than normal. At this point, we have already harvested over 50% of our corn. Bean harvest and subsequent wheat planting should begin the first full week of October. Things are rolling right along!
This has been one of the least stressful falls that I can remember. Not that there isn’t a lot going on, but we have such a great group of guys (and girls!) out there in the field. Aaron tends to divide his time between the office and the combine. Like many of us, he often needs to be in two places at one time. All I can say is that his cell phone plan has unlimited text and talk time for a reason!
Speaking of Aaron, it is time that I address something that I have avoided in my blog to this point. Since our segment on America’s Heartland is airing soon, I wanted to go ahead and write about it since we talk about it a little during the show. About six years ago, Aaron began having weakness in his right calf muscle. After six years and about that many neurologists, Aaron was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, this spring.
The weakness has severely affected his right leg and, therefore, his ability to get around as easily as he used to. Please don’t think this has stopped MY husband! Quite the contrary, Aaron is as focused and determined as ever. While an ALS diagnosis is never good news, there are many positives in our situation. We are blessed to have the care and support of our family and friends, of course. Additionally, Aaron’s symptoms are progressing very slowly. While that made it frustrating to get a diagnosis, it is a blessing knowing that this disease will not progress rapidly. Aaron and I remain faithful and committed to God’s plan for us. I am not saying that every day is easy, but we are at peace and moving forward with the wonderful life we have been given.
All of that hard work has not been missed by “the little people” in the house either. Earlier this week Kathryn asked if our farm had a slogan. I told her no and asked if she had thought of one. She said, “Determination, sweat, and hard work.” I couldn’t help but chuckle. While it won’t be on any of our marketing material, she definitely pegged the “corporate culture.”
Andrew remains as committed as ever to his future farming profession. He absolutely loves school, but would miss every day if he could ride in the combine with his dad. Andrew can tell you the model number of every combine, tractor, and implement on our farm and on Aaron’s brother’s farm in Iowa. Adam has just turned two and loves reading about and playing with tractors, but he is a bit intimidated by their size and noise, so he still hangs with me in the van when we visit the field.
My harvest pictures are non-existent. I will add some to the Flickr link later this week. The ones I have included are of us in front of our Dodge Ram truck and in our new Case IH Scout. We won the Scout from the Kentucky Farm Bureau Outstanding Young Farm Family Contest. The truck was the prize for winning the national Farm Bureau Achievement Award. We had to wait a while for delivery, but we are enjoying our “toys.” We are thankful to Farm Bureau and their sponsors for these nice prizes. I have also included one of Aaron and Andrew on the platform of the combine – or, as Andrew would say, “the John Deere 9770 STS combine with the 612C corn head.”
Well, stay tuned. Our show airs tonight, but the blog will continue through harvest and wheat planting. At this rate, that won’t be too long!
posted by J Shoultz at
9:43 AM
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no new posts since the redesign ?
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