In my barn boots

Carried away go my thoughts
Like fall leaves on a brisk breeze
My feet are in boots
My mind does as it may please

It floats to the meals
I will make for the crew
It flies to the work — 
My long lists of to-do

The next quilting project
Lies on my table in a pile
In my head though,
Three new quilts are done — I smile

Gardens are awaiting 
For me to clean up and get ready
The snows will come soon
I must clip along, steady

No apples this year
Wolf River tree on a break
I crave applesauce, hot
And all the apple things to make

Bow season is upon us
Youth hunt was a treat
Henry and Dane scored big ones —
We have big buck fresh meat

November deer season —
A calendar page away
Cards, cousins, laughter, fun
I plan fun as cows come my way

My clipboard is a jumble
Of ideas, notes, and a cow list
It is a good thing I know the girls
I am watching the gate — I insist

All the books, all the books
I wish I could read more
To my kids, myself
Oh, reading I do adore

Here comes Goober,
I had better watch the gate
Carmelita, Pancake, Limerick-out
Muriel, Sherlock — you wait

Moving cows has a rhythm 
My body knows it well
Sway this way — go out
Shift that way — they can tell

In my barn boots
I feel quite at ease
Clipboard and pen in hand
Doodling words like these

Jacqui and her family milk 800 cows and farm 1,200 acres of crops in the northeastern corner of Vernon County, Wisconsin. Her children, Ira, Dane, Henry and Cora, help her on the farm while her husband, Keith, works on a grain farm. If she’s not in the barn, she’s probably in the kitchen, trailing after little ones or sharing her passion of reading with someone. Her life is best described as organized chaos, and if it wasn’t, she’d be bored.