Top 10 lessons that I’ve learned on the farm:

1. Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment. We’re trying to avoid having to follow this advice but somehow it just keeps happening!
2. The old saying, “life is simpler when you plow around the stump”, isn’t necessarily so. (What’s left of our old disk harrow would not agree! Oh and have the truck jack handy when you get the tractor stuck on a stump, twice.)
3. Smokestack’s honey bees really are considerably faster than a tractor but can’t catch Sherlock screaming and running through the pasture at full speed in a zig-zag pattern.
4. Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you and if it’s got horns it’s NOT a good idea!
5. Silence sometimes is the best answer. Especially if everything you do is different from most everyone else. Just better to keep your mouth shut and let folks think you are ignorant. (Use the smile, nod and back away technique.)
6. If you get in a hurry something is going to break. Every time!
7. Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance. We’ve figured that it’s got something to do with dark clouds.
8. Always drink upstream from the herd. That ain’t lemonade!
9. Keep skunks, bankers and lawyers at a distance. Strategically placed foot hold traps work well for all three.
10. When visiting the local seed and feed, plan on spending some time listening to the friendly farmer that always seems to be there to tell you; prices are too high to buy and too low to sell; he’ll tell you it’s too late to plant, but told your neighbor it was too early yesterday. Oh, and then when he tries to give you financial advice………. Yep; smile, nod and back away.

Just a few quick tips I though some of you may need to know.