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INTEREST-ING

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This week’s farming update from Ben

Brrrr. We are hardy Minnesotan’s but it’s still cold out. Hope you can stay inside and warm for the weekend. 

Honestly, how did people do it 100  years ago? Or 500? Or 1000?? 

We have so much to be thankful for. 

I got my corn check from the co-op last week and put it in the bank. And this week I paid off the loan I borrowed from a month ago to pay the bills. And the co-op emailed about setting up the loan and credit for 2026 crops. Easy come, easy go. Repeat. I spent some time this week comparing interest rates. It’s kinda hard to find out what the actual Prime rate is. Course it varies by bank and how much money you have. And it was kind of interesting how that works. One of the companies the co-op uses does Prime minus 0.5% until August, then Prime + 0.5% until Feb of 2027. Another company has different rates on some of the products and zero interest on some, but then Prime +2% on fertilizer. In the end, it doesn’t amount to that much money. It would be a different story if I was spending $450,000 at 7.5% interest. (That’s $33,750 @ 7.5% if you’re curious. Now we’re talking real money!) And the government is going to bail me out with the poor prices on soybeans. So they say. I don’t know what that’s going to amount too yet. It won’t be $33,000 I can tell you that. I’ll bet I can take off a couple zero’s there and be more like it. I always say the difference between me and the big farms is a couple zeros on the expenses and the income. 

I’ll fill out the forms this weekend and figure out next years crops. Samantha, the agronomist I work with at the co-op sent out a rough worksheet of next year expenses for my planning purposes, and I’ll get things ordered and prices locked in by mid January for the best rate. 

Yesterday on the blog we were talking about things from the past. I had a guy at the farm the other day who had a front wheel drive car and was almost stuck on the bare, but snow covered driveway. He clearly didn’t know how to drive on snow. His wheels were spinning and he blamed the posi-traction. I can still hear my dad’s voice “DON’T SPIN YOUR WHEELS!” Our mantra in winter back in the day of rear-wheel drive cars. “Sit heavy! Don’t spin your wheels.” And my family jokes that Dad would say, “NO TALKING! BE QUIET BACK THERE!” I don’t remember that, but I’m sure it was so Dad could hear the wheels not spinning. Shift to low, back up to the garage so you can get a run at it, and don’t spin your wheels. And the guy got out. Our driveway is long and starts right off with an uphill “U”. (So right, “get a run at it” but you’re making a corner at the same time. You learn a lot about friction doing that.) Then you’ve got a flat 75 yards to gain some speed before the next uphill corner to the left. Most people, if they get around the U, can make the next corner. Although there was some days I had to back up 50 yards and get a run at the second corner again. But a front wheel drive car? Dude. Learn to drive. I remember years ago, the guy who would come in to breed the cows. He had a little tiny car. Rear wheel drive. He couldn’t get out. And he turned around and went backwards really fast around both corners. I was very impressed. But he made it. 

Last weekend Padawan called me about 10:00 at night to see if I would help pull a friend of his out of a ditch. So I went. Because we’ve said Padawan is our second son, so, that’s what you do for your kids. The friend had a new sporty little car. Still had the temporary plates. Skidded on the snow and slid into a ditch. Another kid who needs to learn how to drive. He was only a little stuck. Pulled him out with the truck.

Haven’t had much time to work in the shop this past week. Concerts at the college, homework, (had the last ‘in person’ class. I have a couple tests to take yet and some online lectures to watch. Last day of classes is next Friday) And I’ve been moving snow. 

Our mailbox is out on the highway. It’s on a swinging post so the snow launching off the snowplow doesn’t damage it, the box just swings out of the way. Meaning it WHIPS the mail out into the ditch…More than once we’ve found the mail under that pine tree behind the mailboxes. Sometimes we may not find it until spring. Hopefully it wasn’t the check we’ve been waiting for. There are three mailboxes as there used to be three homes down our road. The third, unused mailbox our neighbor named “S. Lamb”. The sacrificial lamb. Our neighbors are very witty.

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The choir sounds really nice this year. It’s a new conductor and he’s doing a great job with the students. At rehearsal I heard him ask the kids, “Are you ready for the concerts Friday and Saturday?” And they responded, “Thursday and Friday!” 

“Good. What time is the concert?” 

“7:00”

“Good. What time are you going to be here?”

“6:00” 

“Good. Saturday and Sunday concerts, It will be fun!” 

“THURSDAY AND FRIDAY!” 

“Good.” 

Clearly, he’s worked with teenagers before.  

In my happy place.

HOW YOU GONNA STAY WARM THIS WEEKEND?

HOW DO YOU THINK YOU WOOD HAVE STAYED WARM 500 YEARS AGO?

60 thoughts on “INTEREST-ING”

  1. I “wood” have stayed warm by burning lots of wood in an enclosed, sealed-as-tight-as-dwelling, I suppose. (Had to zing you on that one, Ben. 🙂 )

    Actually, I would have probably migrated south. I’m not a fan of hot weather, but when it comes to self-preservation, it’s much easier to stay alive in a climate that doesn’t get below freezing very often.

    On the “too cold to play outside days like today and tomorrow, we usually hunker down inside, probably use the fireplace for a while. I was going to do an author event this morning, but it was canceled due to the cold. *Huh?? Zero is too cold for people to drive their cars downtown and buy books??? What have we Minnesotans done to become soooo soft?? Why, in MY day . . . *Fill in the typical old-man rant about braving the elements as a child and not thinking twice about my delicate little constitution.*

    I DO remember XC skiing 40+ years ago in Jay Cooke State Park when it was zero to 10 above. I didn’t ski for long, but I could handle 30-45 minutes as long as I moved fast. Nowadays, I prefer it to be 15 degrees or warmer (also depends on sun and wind factors. 20-25 degrees is my skiing sweet spot. Hoping for that kind of temps on the North Shore in February when we go up for a week of snow fun.

    Chris in Owatonna

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    1. My grandma would write in her dairy in 1950, “minus 10 today, snowing and windy. Went to card club, got groceries.”
      Course that was AFTER all the chores outside.

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  4. We do have a couple of events we are committed to, so I will get out the last of my winter coats – the heavy artillery: full length down coat with hood…

    Tonight we take tickets for an a cappella quartet’s Christmas concert, and tomorrow morning our special UU Solstice Celebration. How is it possible we have these two days of deep freeze, and then an expected 39 degrees two days later?

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    1. I just came in from doing chores. I had to put my hood up.

      The hat is a must. Just a baseball cap, mesh back, but that’s enough to keep my head warm. The hood was for my ears.

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  9. Rise and Shiver, Baboons,

    When it is below 0° I close off the 4 season porch and turn the temperature there down to 55° so my plants do not freeze, but we do not use as much electricity. Then I go downstairs to the family room/office, turn on the fireplace and hang out there where it is toasty warm. I also am a big believer in wool socks. I bought another 4 pack of those yesterday at Costco. When I walk the puppy I wear leggings under the jeans and, as Barb says, bring out the full coat artillery.

    I think Bill is correct that 500 years ago, I would have been dead. 72 years old would have been a nearly unfathomable old age. When I was doing my geneology a few years ago I ran into an old Puritan ancestor in Massachusetts named Edward Garfield. He immigrated in 1630, then died in 1672 at age 89. That was 353 years ago. Both my parents (as well as James Garfield) were descended from this guy, my dad from his daughter, my mom from his son. There is some remarkable old age in both families. Given the conditions of his life, I think that is pretty amazing that he lived that long.

    My parents would tell me about how they stayed warm in childhood in the winter. The furnace was fueled with coal or oil. They slept upstairs in bedrooms heated only by a large vent that allowed warm air to drift upward without forced air. Their mothers made wool quilts for the beds, stacked in thick layers. They used warmed jars of water and bricks to heat the beds, then those were wrapped in cloth. You put your feet on those warm objects until body heat warmed the bed. Everyone slept with a sibling in the bed and cuddled up for warmth. Sometimes the contents of the upstairs chamber pot would freeze.

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    2. My great x 8 grandfather, Johnathan Fairbanks, lived to 74. He immigrated in 1633 to Dedham, Massachusetts.
      The house he built in 1637 still stands as a museum.

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  10. Maggie and I are enjoying a fire in the fireplace this morning. I’m drinking warm tea and looking at recipes. She is chewing on her toys. I owe my friend, Gary, a phone call today, so I’ll do that later this morning. I’m not insisting on walking outside or potty training today. I have tried piddle pads in Maggie’s pen, but she thinks they’re something to attack, shred, and eat. Crate training is going very slowly. I put the pen on a tarp in the living room and put her crate in the pen with the door off. She can go in and out as she pleases. Sometimes she does her business on the tarp inside the pen, which is fine since the piddle pads aren’t working. Maggie is wearing puppy pampers.

    Last night I went out for supper (Vietnamese) with some friends, and left Maggie in her pen alone for the first time. I failed to close the sliding lock on the door properly and she got out. She was in a state of anxiety when I got home, but there were no accidents.

    I think if I was living 500 years ago, I would be close to a hearth fire, maybe burning peat or turf, wheezing and coughing, and trying to bake or knit. There would likely be a kettle near or in the fire, and maybe a pot of soup. There would be cats, dogs, wool clothing, and hopefully books.

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  11. Earlier this week, I watched a program on how people in castles stayed warm. Those tapestries weren’t just for decoration. They also kept out the cold from the stone walls. Bed canopies were made to retain body heat. People slept wearing multiple layers of clothes. The servants slept together in the kitchen.

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    2. One of the summer projects at the Rep theater involved insulating the North wall, which was just concrete block. I nailed 2×4’s to the wall, glued 1.5″ pink foam board between the 2×4’s, then covered w/ plywood or curtains. We could see the cracks in the grout. No wonder it was cold. The audience tonight and tomorrow afternoon should be grateful.

      The castle walls were probably thicker, but the cold still penetrates. And they had all those slots for the archers!

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    3. i have an architect friend who is tasked with bringing a stone church circa 1903 up to date as much as possible i threw an idea at him on developing a geothermal heating of the stone walls to heat in winter and cool in summer. a new project on my list

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  13. The dog decided that since I was distracted this morning and left my coffee within his reach, he would drink it. Now we have a caffeine buzzed terrier and it is too cold to walk him very much.

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      2. Somehow I skipped over the post about the dog drinking coffee and for a second I thought the vet was advising you about your husband and his aebleskiver.

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  14. I have been inside the 16th century farmhouse my maternal grandfather grew up in in northern Germany. There was a large room that is now a family room that used to be where the farm animals were housed. Everyone stayed warmer and didn’t need to go outside so often to do chores.

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    2. I’ve been in an Italian farmhouse where the animals were originally housed on the ground floor for warmth and convenience. That’s been a standard arrangement anywhere it gets cold, I understand, since before the Nativity.

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  17. 0 degrees F. here in Franklin, Ohio.
    Very near the 1905 record of -1 for this date.
    My apartment has only one window. Each late October, I winterize it by stuffing towels all around the air-conditioner and applying shrink plastic over the whole frame. Next comes a heavy bed covering that features Spirit Lake Lodge Washington. My relatives in Spokane passed it on to my Dad and I inherited it from him. Sometime I’ll have to trace it’s origins and find out if there’s any connection to the Mt. St. Helen’s disaster.

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  18. We had plans to do Christmas shopping Saturday, but woke up to a sick kitty. So we stayed home to keep an eye on her. Spent the morning in the living room, which faces south and gets lots of sun. I made homemade pizza for dinner, which warmed up the house.

    Kitty is back to normal today and insisted on her daily ritual of going out on the deck first thing in the morning. It was very quiet, just one neighbor out walking their dog, and a couple of the neighborhood turkeys. We have concert tickets, so will be venturing out this afternoon.

    Some of my ancestors settled in Quebec in the 1600s and must have endured harsh winters. I’m glad I live in the era of central heating.

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  19. i am done doing my delivering in first cold blast. i borrowed my wifes car because my heater is not good. in my coat sorels and fedora i was warm outside and too hot in the car and while shopping. i didnt spend extended time outside but it didnt feel cold out
    i love this time of year when after a blast of below zero it ferls warm at 30. minnesota…

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  20. i heard them talking about farm loans and dates required to get loan apps in for next years stuff and thought of you ben. i was betting you had a good handle on it. congrats .
    dylan in rochester in march. are you involved ben?

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    1. Not involved with Dylan this time around. One of my last gigs as a stagehand was for a Dylan concert in Rochester. I googled it: August of 2004, with Willie Nelson at Mayo Field. Seems like I only worked the load out.
      Got a T-shirt that said ‘Dylan Stage Crew’. That was a big deal if the band gave out T-shirts at the end of the night. I had a bunch of them. You couldn’t be very fussy about sizes, it was mostly L and XL. And black.

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  21. When the temperature plunges below zero I keep a nervous eye on the thermostat. Cold snaps have not always gone well in the past, and I don’t take central heating for granted.

    Five hundred years ago I wouldn’t have had the physical stamina to chop my own wood for a Minnesota-type winter, and would have had to live elsewhere or rely on someone else to provide. Of course, it’s also possible that five hundred years ago. odds are I might have just succumbed to some awful childhood disease and never grown to adulthood.

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  22. Well, Friday and Saturday I stayed warm by being in the kitchen with the stove on most of the day. On my few four is out to pick up last-minute ingredients, I did drag the big white furry coat out of the closet.

    And I tried really hard not to feel guilty when YA was out a couple of times shoveling and scraping ice and cleaning out the ice lanterns.

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