Country Lifestyles
“How you do one thing, is how you do everything” — All for My 5
By Jessica Crabtree
In 2011 Amy Binder and her husband Cy welcomed their fifth and final child into the world. “That was in April and here it was, we had five kids and began thinking about the Christmas season, bills and providing for all of our children,” the mother of five explained. Binder’s profession is a teacher and coach, choosing teaching as a way to spend the most time with her kids, and coaching because she is passionate about athletics and competition. Binder considered her options. With little time on her hands, she resorted to what she knew, being inventive and using her artistic ability.
October of 2011 the Muenster native began painting glass Christmas ornaments, adorning each with names, initials, school or college logos. That year Binder sold approximately200 ornaments, acknowledging it was purely a source to help provide for her family. As popularity grew, customers began challenging Binder with different requests. Admitting the quality of her work improved through experience, the entrepreneur and artist has gained knowledge of paint and the process of assembly. Every year since, Binder has hand-painted around 200 glass Christmas ornaments per Christmas season. “Due to the success of the ornaments and the confidence I gained through selling my artwork, I realized that with five growing children, I could help ease the financial burden of a large family by continuing to paint throughout the year,” Binder expressed.
Afterward, Binder began creating family trees on canvas. The base of the tree uses the matriarch and patriarch names and the tree then is formed on up by all family members’ names. It is a unique display, one that combines a handmade, personalized touch. Once the family tree canvases took off, Binder started incorporating wood. “I love the family trees, but canvas is not forgiving. With wood, you can sand it down, re-paint and redo if you mess up; wood is so forgiving,” acknowledging wood as being her favorite material to work with and paint on.
To read more pick up a copy of the June 2018 NTFR issue. To subscribe call 940-872-5922.
Binder’s family includes her four sons, Mason, Brennan, Dax and Titan, daughter Jada and husband Cy. (Photo courtesy of Amy Binder)
Binder aside “Sweet Mother of Pie” owner Betti Jo Weber, with The Pie House sign Binder handmade. (Photo courtesy of Amy Binder)
Custom painted skillet by Binder. (Photo courtesy of Amy Binder)
Here Binder is shown with her mother, late grandmother and daughter, completing four generations. (Photo courtesy of Amy Binder)
By Lacey Vilhauer
Ingredients:
1 whole lemon, seeded and roughly chopped
2 cups sugar
2 pounds strawberries, hulled
Juice of 1 to 2 lemons
¼ cup water
Directions:
Place the chopped lemon and sugar in a food processor and pulse until combined. Transfer to a large bowl. Puree the strawberries in a food processor and add to the lemon mixture along with juice of one lemon and water. Taste and add more juice as desired.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Nicholas Waters
As winter plods along – come Spring and gopher mounds – homeowners and farmers find themselves playing a familiar song – fiddling while Rome is burning.
Let’s make a mountain out of a molehill. Those mounds on your lawn and pasture could be moles, but they’re more than likely gophers; Plains Pocket Gophers to be pragmatic – Geomys bursarius to be scientific.
These rodents dig and chew, and the damage they can do goes beyond the mounds we mow over. Iowa State University cited a study in Nebraska showing a 35 percent loss in irrigated alfalfa fields due to the presence of pocket gophers; the number jumped to 46 percent in decreased production of non-irrigated alfalfa fields.
The internet is replete with academic research from coast-to-coast on how to curtail gopher populations, or at least control them. Kansas State University – then called Kansas State Agricultural College – also published a book [Bulletin 152] in February 1908 focused exclusively on the pocket gopher.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
By Annette Bridges
Everyone needs a room with a view that makes their heart happy. My honest favorite panorama would be either the mountains or the ocean. I have yet to convince my hubby to make permanent moves to either, although he does enjoy the visits as much as I do.
The location of our house on our ranch does not provide the expansive field of vision of our land that I would enjoy. So, I have created a room decorated and furnished in a way that gives me smiles, giggles, and a wonderful peace-filled feeling when I am hanging out in it. I am in that place right now writing this column. I am in a lounging position with my computer in my lap on the chaise that was once my sweet mama’s. I had it reupholstered this year to give it a fresh look.
To read more, pick up a copy of the April issue of NTFR magazine. To subscribe by mail, call 940-872-5922.
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