Chris' Thinking Tank

Greetings!

It is the beautiful month of March!  Spring is coming!  Yippee!  Soon, we'll be firing up the grills!  I certainly hope winter has been somewhat kind to you.

I would like to share a story with you that I experienced last week.

Good Morning!

We had a pretty snow yesterday.  The wind was mightly cold, but it was sure nice seeing the sun.

Good Morning!

I have not posted in a while.  We have had shorter nights and longer days than usual.  Lots of sniffles circulating in our home over the past month or so.  It is a normal season of life and we will make it through.

Happy Birthday Madison!

Our daughter turned 5 today!  She got to put 5 pennies in the birthday cake in Sunday School, we had a family dinner after church and Melissa's family for supper.  It was a fun day.

What a horrific tragedy.  Even before the earthquake there was inequity.  This truly widens that gap of fairness.

Good Morning,

I am amazed at how quickly winter is slipping away.  I am not even close to where I would like to be in the area of winter projects.  Chip away, chip away...

A Blessed Happy New Year to you!

A new year is upon us.  I do lots of reflecting this time of year.  I look ahead and look behind.  As I look back on 2009, I am brought back to reality in my looking at 2010.  December 17 is a date that we will never forget.  We adopted our son, Aiden on that day.

Good Morning.

I hope you are having a good new year so far.  Last night it was still light out at 4:42 pm.  Woohoo!  The days are getting longer.

Wow!  It is already the 8th!  I blinked and a week went by.

Good Morning,
My brother's family went to Green Bay last weekend.  They are big Packer fans.  They had a good time.

We had a very nice Christmas.  I do not work real long hours this time of year.  I do my chores and usually have a project or two going.

Good Morning.

We had a nice weekend.  Saturday I worked on some Binwackers and washed the pig barn.

Just wanted to give another loud shout out to my God!  Today we are adopting the son that God has brought to us.

Aiden James Birky officially becomes a part of our family today!

Thank you Jesus.

The way God has assembled our family is truly a miracle and we will forever be grateful and probably exhausted.

Chris

Good Morning,

I spent quite a bit of time the last couple days updating my email list on this website.  I never got around to transfering our old newsletter email list onto our new list.

Merry Christmas!

We wrapped up harvest last week.  I am so thankful.  We have been busy catching up with things that didn't get done while we were harvesting.  We still haven't put up our tree yet, but hope to this week.

Good Morning,

I apologize for the lack of blogging the last couple weeks.  It has been very long days and short evenings of "picking and grinning" as I usually say when people ask what I am doing.

Good Morning,

     We had a very nice Thanksgiving yesterday.  We had a home raised turkey from my nephew Nathan.  It was huge and delicious.  I love mashed potatoes and gravy.  The raspberry pie with ice cream was really good too.

Good Morning,

Picking up the rest of our hams this morning. 

We had to get new tires for our combine.  We had them put on a couple days ago.  Never really noticed how bad the old ones are until the new ones go on.

Greetings,

Picked some corn yesterday morning before the rain...like wise this morning.  Sure grateful we finished beans last week.  The corn is decent in some spots.  It is a little wetter than we would desire, but need to just be thankful.

We finished double crop beans tonight!  Now it is on to corn!

We finished 1st crop beans yesterday.  Praise the Lord!  We started on double crop beans last night.  They were ready!  Sweet!
I over slept this morning, so I am crunched for time. Had some visitors this morning in our bed at 2:30.  Once 3ish rolls around it is hard for me to go back to sleep.  I am definitely a morning person.  Good God time.
Girls rode in the combine with me yesterday.
We sent out a order of Binwackers yesterday.
I have to sell some pigs today.
I need to do payroll, so you have a great day.

Chris

Good Morning,

We have had a couple very nice days for harvesting.  Lord willing we can have another 6 weeks and get wrapped up before Christmas.

Greetings,

Happy Thanksgiving from the Birkys!

Now that the holiday season is on us, I want to ask you, "what you are looking at?"  Once you answer that question, next ask "how close to it are you?"  These might seem like crazy questions, but hey, consider who asked them.  But, anyway, one thing that I have found is when I find myself becoming overwhelmed, it is usually because my focus has become too narrow and near-sighted.

What a beautiful day it was yesterday.  The kid's colds are getting better so we swung for a while since it was nice.  Last night we had a family fun night at our church building.  Yes, it was fun.  It was good to let the girls get out.

Good morning,

I have been doing lots of things that I normallly wouldn't be doing in October.  We have only had 2 1/2 days of harvest this month.  God has truly blessed us with plenty of rain.

Good Morning.
     We began harvest last week.  It has been a very unique year.  Normally we are able to harvest beans starting around 11 am and finishing around dark because they get tough.  We haven't had lots of days to harvest yet, but the 3 days we did have we were able to run looooooong days.  Greg harvested to 3 am one morning.  I had started at 8 the previous morning.  That's 19 hours of harvest.  That doesn't happen very often.

Good Morning!

We started harvest!  Yippee!  This is the latest we have ever had to wait to begin.  Lord willing, we will get a stretch of good weather to finish.

Christmas will be the goal this year and that could be pushing it.  Soybeans are the real battle.  They are very sensitive to moisture.  The sooner they are in the better.

Greetings,

Greg & I have been patiently waiting for good weather to begin harvesting.  It will come.

We almost have done the hog shed we were working on.

I had a catering event for Pratt Industries on Tuesday.  What a incredible factory.  So Clean!

Still working on some Binwackers.  Picked up some pork yesterday.  Finally got the bacon in!

Doing book work this morning.  Maybe if it clears up we will get to harvest today.

Last Saturday was the Fall Fest.  What a blast.  I had lots of fun.  It will take me forever to remember everyone.  I didn't get to talk to everyone like I would have liked too.

Thanks for everyone's support!

Chris

Good Morning,

     It has definitely been a unique grain farming year.  There is never one alike.  We are finally ready to start harvest.  The crops matured slow this year due to the below average temps.  Global what?  It was a very nice summer for us and for the pigs.  We have had lots of rain this last couple weeks.  it looks like if the weather clears up we should be able to start beans next week.  We really pray for good weather at least till soybean harvest is over.

     This week I finished my uncle's roof.  Praise the Lord!  It was a beautiful day on Tuesday and it wrapped up nicely.  On Thursday, Greg and I framed a pig shed.  We will put steel on next week.

      I began working on crop budgeting for next year.  The futures markets were weather rallying for Dec 2010, so I had to see where my projections would be.  I used to try and farm like the baseball team that relies on home runs.  You strke out a lot.  I have developed more into a small ball team, trying to manufacture runs.  It has a lot to do with being content and not always holding out for more.

     Today is our first annual Fall Fest for our E-club members.  I am really looking forward to it.  I hope you can make it.  Stay safe!

Blessings,

Chris

Lord, thanks for everything.

Good Morning,

I hope everyone had a good weekend.  I will admit it is harder to wake up in the morning when it is cold and dark outside.

A couple years ago, I finished a task that I started atleast a decade earlier.  I finished writing a book.  It is not like a novel or anything.  It is more a devotional/testimonial/tutorial book filled with Life Lessons that God has taught me.  It is called, Life:A glimpse from God.  It is basically filled with tools that God has showed me to help cope with life and its ups and downs.

I will not bore you with the full chapter, but one of those lessons is called a Table and Shelves.

Good Morning!

It has been a challenge to keep up with the blogging.  I hope to do better.

Good Morning,

Yesterday was Bella's adoption.  It was really fun.  She is officially a Birky.  Hopefully, Lord willing, she won't regret that some day.

The last couple days I have been do prep work for the South county cook off on Saturday.  I will be fun.

Last week I had a lot of cooking events.  They went very well.  We had 3 on Friday which was my Birthday.  Thanks to everyone who came to lunch and for all the Birthday wishes. 

We had Greeks pizza for supper with family and friends to celebrate.

Not a lot going on with crops right now.  We are getting ready for harvest.

Have some pig barn renovations coming up soon.

I am trying to wrap up roofing my uncle's house this week.

Hope you are having a great week.

Chris

     It has been difficult to find the time and energy to write this journal lately.  Over the past 10 days we have had several things happening.

Good Morning!

I really don't know where to begin.  A lot of water has flowed under the bridge since I last wrote.  Crop care is pretty well over and all we can really do is watch and wait.  God sent us some great rain and weather that was such a blessing.

Greetings,

We left for vacation in Onekema MI on Monday and got back tonight.  It was kind of short, but a nice break.  We did some fishing and swimming and played cards.  It is a camp ground with nice cabins and a logde with a nice dining hall.  They have very reasonable buffets.

Good Morning,

I think I am somewhat back to normal, if that is possible.  We had the Pork Chop Express at the Porter County fair for a long eleven days.  Thanks to everyone who stopped and bought sandwiches.  I really enjoy the people who work for me and also everyone that stops to say hello.  It is very hard to maintain a normal routine and manage the fair.

Yes I am still here!

My cup has been overflowing with tasks to be completed.  It is all good.  As the old saying goes...you got to make hay when the hay is ready. 

Good Morning!

I apologize for my lack of journaling lately, but I have not been in front of the computer very much.  The time I am in front I am pushing to get payroll done and bills paid and invoices billed.  I am very thankful for work right now, especially considering the economic times we are all going through.

Good Morning,

We had a very nice weekend.  I hope you did as well.  The party we were going to on Saturday was postponed until Sunday.  It was in the evening.  It was real fun.

Good Morning,

What a beautiful morning.  Looks like we had a little shower last evening.  Praise the Lord.  The next 2 months are pretty crucial for water in farming.  It is a time when you just have to trust.  I have made it a personal mission to not voice when I think it should or shouldn't rain.  It is just better for me to submit to the one who makes it rain and trust Him.

Good Morning,

I have not done a very good job of keeping up on blogging.  This has been a very full week.  We catered the Purdue Farm tour this week for a couple meals.  Thank you Purdue.  We did a rehearsal supper last night and have 2 open houses and a hog roast today.  I am very thankful for the work.

Good Morning,

I am so thankful for Sundays.  God is always right.  I do need to rest and I do need to focus on Him on a regular basis.

Today is my mom's b-day.  It is also Fathers' day.

Good morning,

Looks like another beautiful morning.  The secret to life lies in the ability for me to say that no matter what the weather or life circumstance may be.

Wow!  Where did that week go?

My schedule has been quite full this week.  I had a REMC Board meeting on Monday night.  I have been doing field work for myself and our neighbor.  We have had a couple open houses to cook for and others to attend.

Good Morning,

It is a balmy 44 degrees this morning.  I like to open the windows in my office in the mornings so I can hear the birds and get the fresh air.  I had to put a sweatshirt on today.

Good Morning.

It is a brisk morning, but the birds are definitely singing their praises this morning.  We have a humming bird that likes the new flowers on the porch.

Greetings.

I am caught up on my paper work for this week.  It is sometimes very burdensome waking up and there it sits, just waiting for you.  Don't get me wrong, I love getting up early, but I like it better when it is my time, not just more work.

Good Morning.

We sure had a nice weekend.  Saturday was our customer appreciation and summer kickoff.  It was so nice to meet so many of you and your friends.  I am looking forward to remembering people and their names.  There sure was a lot of people who came out on such a beautiful day.  I really hope everyone enjoyed themselves.

I am putting in very full days right now.  It is very difficult to accomplish everything that should get done.  The warmer temperatures gives me a lot more get up and go, which is essential with the long days.  I usually get up around 4:30 and talk to God a while, do so exercises, read a little and do office work.  This time of year I like to get out of the house by 6:30.  This week I been trying to be home by 10:30-11.

Good Morning!

It has been a while since I last wrote.  It has been fairly busy around here, but I will do my best to remember what I did.

Greetings!

Thankfully we didn't experience any severe storms here last evening.  We did get plenty of rain.  We would have liked to finish planting, but we never want God to stop providing rain.  He knows best.  Trusting in God is the only you have to fight off stress when things don't "fit into your box".  I don't know how many times over the years that I thought something should have been done and circumstances didn't allow it, but in hindsight, I was so glad it didn't work out.  Sometimes I feel that people that don't know me very well think I am an aloof and very unorganized.  I guess if not demanding my own expectations and understanding God is in control and not always knowing his agenda so that I simply trust and walk by faith and not by sight makes me an aloof...so be it.  God taught me at a very young age that it is His life not mine.

Good morning.

Greetings from the Birkys!

I am starting to spend lots of hours in a 6'x6'x5' glass enclosed box (tractor cab) which allows me lots of hours to think.  I have been taught over the years by many circumstances that there is tremendous responsibility and discipline involved in the whole thinking process.  My mind has the ability to completely affect my whole being.  It can affect how I feel, how I act, what I wear, what I eat, what I say, where I go, what I do, etc...

Greetings!

I am not a very outspoken man, but felt nudged by the Spirit to share this with you.  When I was pastoring, a couple things I always referred back to was my definitions of Grace and Mercy.  Grace is receiving something I don't deserve and mercy is not receiving something I do deserve.  In my limited understanding of life, these words, to me, define God's love and were made complete with Jesus.  I don't deserve a relationship with God forever, but I have been given one.  I deserve separation and torment forever, but have been spared that.  That is love.

Things are really hopping around here.  Praise the Lord for Sundays.  Mine was relaxing.   I played ball with the girls and pushed them on the swings.

Good Evening.

It was a good day.  Started early at the farm.  Had someone coming early for a pick up at the store.  The hog roast yesterday went real well.  My friend Tim helped all day.  We had a ton of people at mom's.  I really need to keep track of who I invite to stuff.  The hog turned out very good.  Tim and I are trying to design the ultimate hog roaster.  We have some good ideas.

Good Morning!

It sure is nice having a little bit warmer temperatures.  I am really getting ready to start planting.  We will probably start this week.

Good Morning,

Sure sounds like it is going to be a great weekend.  I know there are a lot of my farmer friends that are anxious to get started planting.  We do everything no-till, so we have to really let the soil warm up before we plant.  We probably will plant some sweetcorn this weekend, though.

Did I just see a snowflake?  I did!  I did see a snowflake!  Think warm, think warm, think warm. 

Let's see... Last time I wrote it was Thursday.  Our Thursday night carry out went okay.  We definitely need more people.  It takes time.

Good morning!

It is going to be a really nice day.  Today is Bella's 1 year birthday! Yippee!

Good Morning,

     We had a very nice Easter on Sunday.  My family and Melissa's family all celebrated together at my mom's home.  It was nice enough outside that the kids were able to run around and play.

Where did the week go?  I will try to recap.

Good Evening!

    I am plum tuckered out.  I looked at my date book and the past 3 days and don't have much written down, but I know I was busy.  I was still building and cleaning and organizing, plus getting supplies for today's events.

    Today I was truly humbled again.  First of all, so many of you blessed me so much.  The support you showed us at our store, at the Spring fest, and at the pig & lamb sale was so awesome.  I do hope you enjoyed your time and your food!  Second, my family and friends that worked so hard all week and especially today was incredible.  They are great.

     When I was a pastor, this next week was always so busy, but we think we might celebrate holy week differently.  Thursday is Madison and McKenzies' 1 year adoption day!  This is one of the most humbling things in my life!  God is so Good and as our new pastor would say, 'all the time'.  Why he cares about me I don't know, but I am so glad he does.  What is so hard to comprehend is that he is that way with everyone if we let him.  Amazing.  Friday is Melissa's birthday, so we want to celebrate the gift of her!

     It was a full week, but a good one.  Good night!

Amazing Love, how can it be...that you my King would die for me!  Amen!

Greetings!

Every April 1st I would get on the phone and call Grandpa Jake and Grandma Emma's house and tell them that their cows were out.  Knowing full well it was an annual prank, they played right along with it and acted all flustered and concerned and just laughed and said 'you had me going', when I yelled 'April fools!'

The season for Birky Family Farms Country Market has officially began, no foolin'!  It seems we are hitting the ground running; cooking there, organizing here, remodeling there, etc.  We are so looking forward to another year of blessing and serving each of you and your families.  There are many new changes at Birky's Market this year and that is no foolin' too.

Good evening.

I had a pretty full week so far.  Yesterday I took the South Shore train to Chicago.  I was invited to a luncheon at the Hilton Palmer Hotel.  It is very swank.  We provided some fresh pork sides to a chef in Chicago named Stephanie Izard.  I believe she won a very famous cooking award.  We are a local contact for the National Pork Producers Association and are called on from time to time to provide pork to Chicago chef needs.  The last two years we have provided roaster pigs for ABC seven's Hungry Hound, Steve Delinksy.  The luncheon was put on by the Palmer House to support a not for profit organization called Common Threads.  It is a really cool organization.  It was founded by a chef in Chicago named Art Smith.  It takes children from lower income areas and helps them understand that we all have common threads, food and family.  It is an after school program where they teach the children how to cook and the food is always based on another culture and their traditions.  I am sure if you googled Common Threads you would find some really neat info.  I thought it would be cool to load up these city kids and have them tour some farms out this way.

It sure is humbling taking the train ride and sitting thrrough a presentation like this one.  God has been so good to me and has shown me so much favor.  I sure haven't deserved it.  I came home with such a heart of gratitude and appreciation.  I also have a stirring to make a difference or an impact.

Today I did some bids early and then did chores.  After chores, I started cleaning out the machine shed at mom's to move a cooler in.  I had a friend helping today that knows a lot about refregeration stuff.  Some people are just so intelligent!  I had a supply order come in today.  I also received several calls for events this summer.  I also think I have another cooler going in the store.  I am running out of room.

We had Melissa's Dad and brother over for supper tonight.  We had jambalaya.  It was hot and good.  Melissa put our Pork Smokeys in it.  Tasty!  (but still hot)

I am getting tired.  I hope we get to see you on Saturday for the Springfest!

Lord, You have been so good to me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Good Evening!

     This will be short.  I am bushed and it is only 8:25pm.  It takes a little while to adapt to the longer hours and increased physical labor!  Plus I am not 25 anymore!

     It is not because I have been lazy and not journaled lately...  It was because I was gone.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

     Melissa made some Corned Beef and Cabbage for supper along with red potatoes and carrots.  It was really good.  Never had the stuff until I met her.  She also made some mint fannie mae brownies and some key lime pie.  I had the pie...very good.  We had her family over.  We only have one more holiday, Easter, until we have done the full year of festiviites without her mom.  They have gone much better than I thought this past year.  We miss her very much, but life keeps moving.

Good Evening,

     I got to put the girls to bed by myself tonight.  They were very good.  What a blessing that was!  Seems like my days are flying bye.  Melissa went to listen to the Kouts Singers group this evening.  We have a niece and two nephews that sing along with some children of our friends.  They are performing in Disney World over Spring Break.  That is really cool.

Greetings!

     I spent an afternoon last week at the Nashville Zoo.  It was around 70 degrees!  It got me so pumped for Spring.  I was ready to come home and do something fun outside.  That didn't happen.  As I watched the snow fly horizontal outside, covering my yard, I started thinking I couldn't wait to have a wiffle ball game!  The wind was definitely blowing in!

I realized I was not in full-swing shape. Doesn't matter what kind of exercise you do, once you start getting some long days in, it takes a while to get back into shape. We had a full day at Pratt Industries Wednesday, and we were all dragging Thursday.

Well?  It has been over a week since I last journaled!  Sorry about that.  Good intentions are not of great value.  Now, as I think back and try to remember what I did....not as easy as it may seem.  I'll try!

February 24th?  Is that possible?  Today is fat Tuesday, too, isn't it?  Tomorrow is ash Wednesday!  Then Lent, then Easter!  I love Easter.  I have not really been  a Lent participant in my faith journey, but do appreciate it.  I know Jesus said that He desires Mercy, not sacrifice, but in reality, I gave my life to Him long ago and its not mine to live anymore.  So actually my whole life is a Lent of sacrifice of my selfishness.  I really do like Lent and the focus on preparing for Easter.  Easter sometimes dosn't get enough attention.  What a huge life changing event.  Victory over death, relationship with God restored, it is awesome!  Sorry, my mind was wandering....

Sunday afternoon we had some friends over...we had a great time.  Yesterday, I started hauling beans to the elevator, or as Madison used to call it the "alligator".  She rode with me one time because she had to get her and McKenzie's lollipops!  I am going to be hauling the rest in today.

I am still working on cabinet doors every free moment.  I am getting close.  Had to make a couple improvises, but hey, I am not a professional.  I think they are going to be okay.  Hope you have a great day!

Lord, you are the king of kings and lord of lords, bless your name forever. AMEN!

Good Morning,

     I am not one that watches the weather or the news, but just take what comes.  Everybody was talking yesterday about the snow that was coming.  Guess it isn't here yet.

Good Morning!

     Let it go!  Let it go!  Let it go!  (singing about the snow)  It sure was pretty...deep!  I am very thankful for the moisture and very thankful for staying safe in that blizzard, but I will be tremendously thankful for the 3 months of Spring I am also hoping for. 

Good Evening,

     It has been a full weekend.  Saturday morning I worked on pig stuff and other farm repairs.  I also had lots of calls to people about their catering needs.  Saturday afternoon I was able to cut cabinet doors for the built in cabinets in the basement.  It is very time consuming.  I got to also wash my truck and Melissa's van.  We had a movie night with real pop and a frozen pizza.  We watched the Aristocats.

Good Evening!

     I had a good weekend.  Saturday morning I stayed home with my girls while Melissa and some other ladies cleaned the new pastor's home.  In the early afternoon I worked on the second step in my cabinet door project.  Late afternoon I went and helped unload a moving truck for the new pastor.  We had a gift card for Strongbows so I buzzed on up there and got carry outs that night.  I stuck out like a sore thumb walking into Strongbows in my bibs and sweatshirt, especially on Valentine's Day.

Wow!  Where did the week go?

Greetings!

     Hold on! 

     While the ground hog saw his shadow, Winter is just about over and Spring is around the corner!  We have definitely had quite a winter and look forward to a great Spring.  We hope that this email finds you and your family doing well.  Things are buzzing right now at Birky's Market as we plan for this upcoming season.  If you haven't visited the web lately, check out our new calendar of events and a few of the new things we have planned for this year.

Good morning Mr. Groundhog...welcome Spring!

I am definitely ready for about 3 months of 75 degrees and spring like weather.  It has been a nice snowy winter, but it is okay if it goes away now.

Have you ever felt like you needed to rest from the weekend?  Whew!  We had a great one!

Good Morning!

     We had some snow yesterday, but it wasn't terribly cold.  I can deal with that.  This section of blog is going to be me making an attempt to let you into my world.  I am not making any promises, but I am going to attempt to journal what I do.  I am already 6 days behind, but hey that is okay.  Why am I doing this?  Well...I have people asking me all the time what I do or what are farmers doing now?  So that is why I am doing this.  I hope it is helpful and informative.

Greetings!

     We are having some light colds work their way through our family.  It is just miserable to see kids be sick.  Bella is a delightfully happy little girl, though.  She even thinks it is funny when we use the nose sucker on her.

Good Morning!

Can't believe how many people I heard say they are ready for winter to be over yesterday.  Chip away one day at a time.   Well, it is sometimes hard to remember what I did 5 minutes ago so you can image how hard it is to remember 2 days ago

     It has been very busy since last I journaled.  I had been burning wood pellets in our corn boiler, but finally got my corn moved into the hopper bin.  Now I am burning a 3 part corn to 1 part pellet ratio and really like that combo a lot.  I got the book shelf done for over the desk my grandpa built.  We had kids over again on Thursday night.  One of the them is leaving to serve in the Navy.  We willl misss him.

     I really enjoyed the almost 40 degree weather, but unfortunately it was short lived.  I went

     Good Morning!  It is a balmy 12 degrees.  Heat wave.  It has been an interesting week since I last wrote.  My heart goes out to so many who are not as fortunate as many of us...who don't have a home or atleast a warm home or maybe even enough food or clothes.  It was 22 below zero the other day!  Unreal.  At least it was a dry cold.

     I am watching lots of snow fall at the moment.  We survived the so-called blizzard and are enjoying the spectacular snow fall.  Did a lot of snow shoveling today.  Greg plowed the driveways.  We've had two litters of pigs so far.  They are doing well.  We had a catering event today for Farm Credit Services. 

     We had a nice day yesterday.  We could tell it was a full moon, though.  To say the girls were a tad bit restless in church yesterday would be an understatement. 

     I can't believe we are already into the second week of January!  I am trying to think back on this week and what I wrote last.   On Thursday we hauled some pigs to the Butcher Block for some customers.  Thursday night was fun.  Every 2nd and 4th Thursday nights we have our home open for high school and post high young adults.  Anyone is welcome.