April Showers Bring…

…winter wheat.
In my world, April showers bring May winter wheat.

People, just about this time tomorrow my flight will be landing in Manhappiness. (otherwise known as Manhattan, KS, if your relationship isn’t on nickname level yet.)

Yes, I did leave Manhattan for a new job and new adventures, but that doesn’t in any way lessen my excitement to be going back after two long short months.

For my first big work trip with U.S. Wheat, I will be traveling back to Kansas for the annual Kansas Hard Red Winter (HRW) Wheat Tour. From Monday afternoon through Thursday I will be making a 1,000+ mile loop around Kansas, making overnight stops in Manhattan, Colby, Wichita and Kansas City.

Personally I will be bookending my trip with vacation in Manhattan on the front end and in Wichita on the back end, which means I’ll be able to attend a dear friend’s wedding!

But first, let’s take a look back at April. If you are like me, the month was a cliché  and was gone before you could blink.

I checked a bucket list item off and enjoyed the Cherry Blossom Festival.

I continued to learn my way around the city and went on some pretty picturesque runs.

 

I went on a day-trip with some of my co-workers out to rural Maryland to both see the wheat crop and get an idea of what to expect on the upcoming wheat tour. I love wearing my heels, but I was pretty excited to wear my jeans and boots to work, and more importantly, get some dirt underneath them.

My parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and I wrote this post that got quite a bit of attention…

I bought some cool books  and attended a K-State Alumni reception. Work kept me on my toes and took me out to events at places like the National Press Club and USDA, so of course I had to tame down the nerdy googly eyes.  Let’s just say that part of me continues to forget that I live HERE now. But on the other hand, I don’t know if I ever really want to loose that feeling of being awestruck.

And lastly, I spent time with great people. It’s nice that D.C. is a destination both for people to visit and for other young ag professionals to take the next step in their career. April allowed me to enjoy time with both, meaning that slowly, but surely, I’m starting to build a life here.

Dear May, please don’t fly by quite as fast, but since that’s exactly what I’m expecting, be prepared for my social media to be filled with wheat, sunshine, purple love and lots of friends.

Oh, and because I can’t help myself….

This cracks me up more than it should, EVERY YEAR.

Happy May friends!