A feel good season

A couple weeks ago on a mild weekend in February, I was home from school enjoying doing chores on our farm. That clear Saturday morning was a feel good day filled with the beauty of the vibrant sun shining down on us so early in the day. The snow had been melting, but the ground was crisp with the freezing overnight temperatures. I took my time feeding our calves their milk so I could soak in how wonderful of a morning it was.
It wasn’t only me who noticed the early morning beauty. So did the cows and youngstock. Throughout chores, the cows were all standing chewing their cud, facing toward the rising sun taking in the morning and the heat radiating onto them. By the looks of them, they were feeling just as wonderful as I was. I have always loved being able to notice the winter days getting longer, brighter and melting into spring. The added extra couple minutes the sun shines each day boosts my ambition and my spirits. For me, the fresh feel of a day is the first sign that spring will soon be here with the anticipation and excitement of warm weather, greenery and blooms leading to a growing season ahead. Between now and the true spring, there is much that can happen, more wintery weather and cold temperatures, but as the days get longer, the feel good thoughts of spring keep me going.
This month, I was lucky enough to have some great feel good events as my journey as Princess Kay continues. The first was the Mounds View Police Foundation’s Daddy Daughter Dance. This was the sixth year the Mounds View Police Foundation hosted their father-daughter dance for young girls and their dad, grandpa or father figure to enjoy a special night together. Just like all the other young ladies bringing their dads, I had to do the same and bring my dad, Francis. As the young ladies and their dads were checked in, I was able to greet them with some dairy goodies. They all wore beautiful dresses, and their hair was flawlessly done by their moms. Some wore crowns, and others wore colorful fragrant corsages given to them by their dads. After a meal together, the dance floor was open and flooded with girls. I spent the rest of the evening on the dance floor singing and twirling around to Disney songs and some of the classics with the young ladies. The night wasn’t complete without a couple polkas with my dad.
I ended my February adventures traveling down to Woodson Kindergarten Center in Austin, Minnesota, to celebrate Read Across America Week. I joined 170 students and 16 teachers for an afternoon full of dairy reading and learning. I read “My Family’s Dairy Farm,” a story of 8-year-old Lucas and his family’s dairy farm. The story goes through how dairy farmers work hard for their cows to produce safe and nutritious dairy products for us all. The students were able to see through Lucas’ eyes what dairy farmers do to ensure content and healthy cows.
I am always in a feel good mood after each event where I represent our wonderful dairy community. The people I meet and our interactions and conversations fuels and energizes me just like the beginning of spring. Each year, I wait for our multiple lilac bushes around the farmyard to bloom and flower. The flower’s sweet scent spreads across the farm as the bushes flash their various shades of purple. As a little girl, I would go up to the large flowering bushes to inhale the divine smell the blooms gave off. After evening chores, I would pick a couple small branches of lilacs and bring them to the house. I would take one of the assorted plastic cups from the cupboard and fill it with water for a vase. As the feel good season of spring gets closer, I will be looking forward to a bouquet of purple lilac flowers sitting on the table as the busyness on the farm and in the fields begins.
Princess Kay of the Milky Way Rachel Rynda serves as the Minnesota dairy community’s goodwill ambassador. Rynda grew up in Montgomery, Minnesota, on her family’s dairy farm. She attends University of Wisconsin-River Falls, studying agriculture business with a minor in dairy science, with plans to assist farmers with their finances. She enjoys participating in sports and singing in church with her dad.
Princess Kay is active doing school visits, representing dairy farmers at the Fuel Up To Play 60 activities in conjunction with the Minnesota Vikings and sharing the importance of dairy farming and dairy foods at appearances across Minnesota.