By the Numbers

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  • Blogger Meredith Bernard says her four-legged friends are one consistent source of companionship, love and joy, which makes them worth their weight in gold. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    The dog days of summer are here, but every day is a dog day for blogger Meredith Bernard and her family.

  • Blogger Jennifer Campbell says sitting in her porch swing at the Johnson County (Indiana) Fair was a highlight of her summer in the past. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell's family completed 17 consecutive years of 4-H club work.

  • One of the welcome signs of summer is sweet tea from a mason jar. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard says far from the fury of winter giving way to spring, summer quietly pulls spring to a close, and with it come some favorite memory-making days.

  • Blogger Katie Pratt had mixed feelings when her son turned 16 and she was no longer needed as a chauffeur. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Katie Pratt)

    Blogger Katie Pratt says when a teenager drives to school for the first time, it's a bittersweet rite of passage for the parents.

  • Blogger Tiffany Dowell Lashmet and her two pre-schoolers have spent hours walking around the pastures with a rangeland plant identification book in hand, finding all kinds of different forbs and grasses to identify. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Tiffany Dowell Lashmet)

    Blogger Tiffany Dowell Lashmet uses on-farm flowers to teach her children about plants and life lessons, and to burn off some pent-up energy.

  • In the muck and mire of winter, it's easy to lose sight of what's just around the corner. (DTN/The Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard says mud and the weather that brought it make farmers wonder if the yearly seasonal battle is worth it. But there's always hope around the corner.

  • Blogger Jennifer Campbell says the image in the mirror is hands down her biggest critic. And, it is hardest on her when it should be her biggest cheerleader. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell says the cab mirror brings self-doubt, but it also showcases a life well-lived.

  • (Getty Images photo)

    Blogger Tiffany Dowell Lashmet says from piddling around the back yard to caring for families and animals to volunteering for community involvement, farmers will do just what farmers do.

  • Planting a seed, spying that first sprout and reaping a delicious meal from it is still a miracle to this blogger. (Getty Images photo)

    Blogger Katie Pratt says there is real value in literally growing the food that feeds one's family.

  • Counting the number of pigs in a pen sounds easy enough. But then baby pigs move under and over each other. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell explains there are three basic kinds of pig math she deals with regularly: Baby Pig Counting; Pen Stocking Math; and Loading Out Calculations. But then the pigs start moving.

  • Reality about life and love can be so much better than the movies. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard says being a farm wife has taught this blogger a lot about life and even more about love.

  • Listing three good things can help turn things around. It's not magic but attitude. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell says when life gets you down and things aren't going your way, list three good things to uplift your spirit.

  • Rita the Hay Rake is the best kind of friend. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard says giving names to vehicles and equipment can give great joy.

  • Big candle companies have been missing out for years on the smell of farming. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell encourages people to imagine untraditional scents from a Seasons on the Farm Candle Collection.

  • On hard days, look to find the good, like taking time to pick blackberries to make a homemade cobbler for dessert. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard says there is promise in every sunrise, joy in every silly joke-induced laugh, peace in every ride through the pasture, beauty in every flower blooming and delight in every bird singing.

  • In the end, some 2,400 acres of rangeland had burned. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Tiffany Dowell Lashmet)

    A simple statement of childlike faith may have broader implications in one's life.

  • Sometimes trying is all we have to give and that is truly enough. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Jennifer Campbell)

    Blogger Jennifer Campbell says don't be afraid to admit your life is messy and that you are overwhelmed at times.

  • The porch is the place for the family to slow down and make memories. (DTN/Progressive Farmer photo by Meredith Bernard)

    Blogger Meredith Bernard recommends people take the time to enjoy what a place like a porch, or other happy place of any size, offers.

  • This blogger never dreamed how a pandemic could turn into pandemonium. Then she saw a big skunk through her window. (Progressive Farmer image by Getty Images)

    Blogger Tiffany Dowell Lashmet shares how the COVID-19 quarantine, kids, conference calls, and a skunk make for a unique combination of events.

  • COVID-19 helped Katie Pratt's family to explore hobbies and start genuinely enjoying each other's company. (Getty Images)

    Blogger Katie Pratt shares how COVID-19 isolation brought her family closer and maybe instilled new habits of togetherness.