Amy Kirk
Amy Kirk and her husband raise their two kids on a fourth-generation cow/calf operation near Pringle. She blogs at ranchwifeslant.areavoices.com.Contact
Articles
AMY KIRK: Junk yard wars between rancher, wife
What’s considered reusable junk is in the eye of the rancher or his wife. I recently hauled home some stuff from our junk yard and their presence wasn’t well received by the junk yard manager.
RELATED CONTENTKIRK: Black Hills ranching's springtime guideline
The calendar might say spring is officially here but in South Dakota that’s just a guideline. Especially in the Black Hills, people have to have proof because Mother Nature is notorious for pulling springtime pranks. Just because daylight savings gets implemented doesn’t necessarily mean the season is going to change along with it. Mother Nature loves to convince Black Hills residents that winter has finally broken and then turns around and behaves like an ornery brat.
RELATED CONTENTKIRK: Relating to cows and their lick tubs
I totally get a cow’s obsession to stand over a lick tub and not be able to walk away from their tasty treat. I do the same with chocolate. If it’s there, so am I. When I know there’s chocolate around, especially of the dark variety, it’s hard to leave it alone.
RELATED CONTENTKIRK: Men remain the master bluffers
Contrary to some young people’s assumption, pop singer Lady GaGa did not come up with the expression “Poker Face.”
RELATED CONTENTBLOG: Beef’s new value cuts
These new cuts are roasts and steaks that fill the price-range and value gap from premium steaks to ground beef. The most common are the Flat Iron and Petite Tender.
BLOG: Backyard beauty in the Black Hills
Our home is situated at the foothills of the Black Hills National Forest, where higher elevations, cooler temperatures and trees meet the more arid, warmer, and more valley-type country.
AMY KIRK: Nothing comes easy in South Dakota, and that’s a good thing
South Dakotans have a reputation for being hard workers. The fact that the state mammal is the coyote, and that every year the residents survive South Dakota’s winters, should be one’s first clues.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: Got an unwanted neighbor? Pile up the zucchini
You’re not a true South Dakotan until you’ve been a recipient of homegrown zucchini at least once in your lifetime. If you don’t grow it in your own garden, a relative, friend, neighbor or co-worker who does will oblige you.
RELATED CONTENTBLOG: It's rhubarb season
Together with strawberries, rhubarb makes an excellent summer pie and one of those tastes-of-summer kinds of jams. I consider it a South Dakota signature summer food.
Amy Kirk falls for Prairie Berry wine
I’ve often stood in a liquor store intimidated by the rows and rows of wines staring back at me waiting for me to make a decision. I’m the kind of wine selector that totally judges a wine by its label.
Columns
AMY KIRK: A Positive + A Negative = Ranch Life
Ranching is perpetually dealing with positive and negative situations simultaneously.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: The nature of the rootin’ tootin’ boy
Misguided peer pressure leads to momentary banning of toy gun fun.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: Grateful for divine intervention
Prayers often only extra help for ranchers during calving season.
RELATED CONTENTKIRK: 'The Annoying Neighbor Kid'
Inquiring calves want the scoop when other cows are giving birth
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: Dreaming about a mud room - it's a rural thing
Mudrooms vary in size but the one thing that’s collectively the same is that it’s a place where all things wet, mud and manure-covered are kept when not being worn.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: Mud, Murphy’s Law and calving
Midwestern weather leaves room for doubt when deciding spring schedule.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: The ranch style kitchen table
The kitchen table is a piece of furniture that serves the necessary purpose of providing a surface for mannerly eating. I wish I could say that happens at ours, but I’ve not been overly successful in achieving that with my family. It has successfully served us in numerous other ways it wasn’t intended for, though.
RELATED CONTENTAMY KIRK: One too many women in my husband’s life
Normally I harass my husband that he has one too many women in his life because of how much he fusses over our cows, but I decided it was time to give it a rest.
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