When Will and Avery joined the family this fall, we purchased an igloo shelter. Over the weekend, it lived up to its name.  Will and Avery didn't seem to know what to think about this fluffy white phenomenon. And, honestly, it had been awhile since we humans had seen this much snow, too. An informal yardstick measurement revealed about 7 1/2 inches of the white stuff.  Before anyone gets too worried about Will and Avery, they also had plenty of inside time during the snowstorm. This looked like the very definition of a "cat nap" to me! They served as lap warmers for TV viewing f ..read more

At the Pioneer Woman's Lodge where she shoots her TV show. They say that confession is good for the soul. For long-time readers of Kim's County Line, you know that every so often, I'll make a comment about the Pioneer Woman and her legion of faithful followers. For example, back in a 2011 post, I wrote: I got an email from Jill, telling me I just had to try a Taco Pizza recipe that was almost as good as Elroy's. (That's our local pizza place, and my kids still think it's the best, even though they've had plenty of pizza in bigger cities - including college towns.) She sent the link ..read more

Meet Will and Avery! They're "purr-fect," don't you think? Since Randy lost Big Cat, he'd been in search of a new yellow kitten. What could be better than one yellow kitten? Evidently, it's two yellow kittens. The Hutchinson Animal Shelter had a 2-for-1 price special. (Genius marketing, don't you think?) So these two brothers came home to The County Line - appropriately, on Randy's birthday at the end of October. The Animal Shelter had named them Mac and Cheese. But they were just going to have to get used to new monikers. We started a family text regarding names for our new friends. Kinley ..read more

  If those walls could talk ... The old Quonset hut building on the Stafford County Fairgrounds came tumbling down in late September. It had served as the main building for exhibits at the Stafford County Fair since the 1950s. Once upon a time, that building was state-of-the-art. It was a new enclosed space with a concrete floor, showers in the restrooms and giant electric fans that kept the air moving as fairgoers perused hundreds of 4-H projects. Stafford County Fair photo   But "state of the art: becomes "state of deterioration" in 70 years. The steel framed-round top bui ..read more

It seems appropriate that the ribbon cutting for the renovations at the Nora Larabee Memorial Library in Stafford occurred during October - National Book Month. However, in my opinion, it's always the right time to celebrate libraries and books - two of my favorite things.  The ribbon cutting during Stafford Oktoberfest celebrated the renovations for the library, which has been part of Stafford since 1905. It was constructed in memory of Nora Emily Larabee, who died in 1904 at the age of 27 from tuberculosis. One year later, her parents, who were prominent Stafford residents - Joseph De ..read more

It was a GRAND time! We spent several days in Topeka with the girls while their parents had a quick getaway.  This time, there were two lists of instructions: One was for our granddaughters' schedules and activities. The other one was for Summer, the dog. Thankfully, Randy handled most of the dog duties. Other than a brief time when we lost the red collar that's supposed to keep Summer in the yard, we had minimal mishaps. Summer was a good girl and stayed anyway. Whew! That's on Randy.  But ... oh yeah ... the broken plate is on me.  Still, Kinley and Brooke got to all their a ..read more

   Sometimes, things come into your life and you don't realize how important they will become.  Once upon a time, a yellow cat arrived at The County Line. At this point, we don't remember the details. He was likely a member of a litter of kittens. His siblings are no longer remembered. If I have photos of him as a baby, they are buried in plastic tubs in the basement.  But that little yellow cat grew to be Randy's favorite. Eventually, he became Big Cat.  Randy and I both grew up with farm cats. Those cats come in and out of your life fairly frequently. Life on a farm ..read more

Hey, it's the Lone Ranger.  Nope, he had a friend or two.  These two "bandits" were hanging out in the trees near Peace Creek Sunday evening. They didn't stay long enough to visit before skeedaddling up an old tree and hiding in the upper branches.  On first glance, they are pretty cute, but the rascals can cause some damage. They steal food from the cat bowls. For awhile, they didn't think we were offering a large enough buffet at the Fritzemeier Farm feed trough. They were bound and determined to get into the wash house to help themselves to the food. They were pulling wo ..read more

  I like rainbows - most of the time. But when "rainbows" are in creek water, it's not a good thing. We were notified Wednesday, September 13, about an oil spill that impacted our Rattlesnake Creek Pasture. The "rainbow" in the creek water was the sheen of oil floating on the surface of the Rattlesnake Creek.  Google map - From www.hutchpost.com On September 12, the Kansas Corporation Commission notified the Environmental Protection Agency of the oil discharge to Rattlesnake Creek in Stafford County, according to Ben Washburn, Public Affairs Officer for EPA Region 7. Goog ..read more

Looking west, toward the sunset This summer, a daughter who had lost her mom unexpectedly asked people to send photos of the sunset. Her mom grew up in Stafford and had maintained her ties with her hometown, my PEO group and our church. I made a mental note to pay attention as the evening progressed so I could go out and honor this family's wish for their mom/wife/grandma. For awhile, I thought a rain shower was going to derail my plans. We need the rain, so it was welcome anyway. But as the sun was setting, the sky cleared enough for a beautiful sunset. Later, as I've examined the ..read more