2026, crops, Farming Update, History, Mysteries, Nature, Science, Uncategorized

This Week

50 Comments

This week’s Farming update from Ben 

I think it’s really interesting that aluminum foil in the oven doesn’t get very hot. I can pull it out with my fingers. So I googled it. And learned this: 

  • Extreme Thinness (Low Mass): Standard foil is incredibly thin (about 16 micrometers). Because there is so little metal, there isn’t enough total heat energy to warm up your thick, water-filled skin. The instant you touch it, your cooler fingers absorb the tiny amount of energy, dropping the foil’s temperature immediately.
  • High Conductivity: Aluminum is an excellent heat conductor. Heat passes through it and dissipates into the cooler room air almost instantly.

Isn’t that interesting!

Wednesday was my first day of half summer vacation. I work half time at the college until June, then I’m off for a couple months.  I worked at home ALL DAY Wednesday. 

I had my annual performance review at the college the other day. As I prepared for that and looked for a paper copy of last year’s review I found a phone book on my desk. I guess I kinda knew it was there. I haven’t opened it in a while. It was from 2014. I put it in the round file finally. 

This is a phone book, kids!

I finished planting soybeans last Saturday. 

Sunday I drove over it all with the drag. The fields look great! Smooth and even. Hopefully they get lush and green soon. 

It was sprinkling late Sunday evening when I was out with an old hand cranked seeder spreading grass seed on one of my new field boundaries. 

This thing has hung in the basement as long as I can remember. Asking my siblings, we all played with it but no one remembers seeing anyone actually use it. I’m thinking dad used it to seed grass around the house after it was built. But I’m sure I’m just making that up. 

The directions are on the bottom:

img_6307

I have a few thoughts. I don’t know what 2.5 MPH is when walking, and a spread of 18 feet?? You gotta really be cranking that thing to get 18 feet! Man, I don’t know how the old guys did it back in the day seeding acres and acres with this thing.

I am planting ‘BLM #4’. It’s a quick growing pasture mix commonly containing ryegrass, tall fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass.

At home Padawan and I got a lot done this week. Cleaned out the seed and power washed the corn planter. Parked it outside for the moment and pulled out the seed wagon. Cleaned that off and parked it away. As we were rounding up flowerpots for Kelly, we got sidetracked by crap in a corner of the old shed and ended up hauling out a gator load of scrap iron and a gator load of garbage. 

Tired

I’ve wanted to clean up that corner, just didn’t intend to do it then. It was clean back in 1968 when we were living in the machine shed, then it turned into the tire storage corner. I’m down to about 5 old tires to get rid of, and 3 good spares I store there. And once you start a spare tire corner, it becomes a junk corner real quick. Padawan cut the top off a tote while I was cleaning the planter so we can use a second tote for scrap iron. I forgot about a zoom meeting on Wednesday. Had it on my calender… even knew about it in the morning. Then got a text from someone asking if I was coming to the meeting. I joined from the tractor. 

Padawan and I made a fence and got the adolescent chicks out. 

We put mulch around the seedling trees and starting making a, sort of, ‘tent-fence’ to keep the deer from eating the tree’s and peeling bark off the tiny little things. Stupid deer! These little tree’s are costing us a lot of money! Water totes, pump, hose, fencing, Mulch was free, then more fencing and more posts… jeepers. And who knows how they’ll survive next winter. I don’t have high hopes. 

I need to clean out the grain drill yet. 

Oops. Forgot to turn on the drill in time there.

Right up at the end of our driveway there’s this gap in the oats field.

It’s the first thing you see driving in. I’ve seen it coming all spring, I need to get out there and replant that. Course it will always be a month behind. But a bare spot allows weeds to grow. And I have several bushels left in the drill to clean out so I may as well go plant that and fill in a few light spots in another field. 

Padawan has gotten a new job. He’ll be working 11:00 AM – 8:00PM Tuesday – Saturday. I’m gonna miss him. He and I have really connected the last few months. I enjoy having him around and he kinda likes having us as his surrogate family. In fact, he listed me as “Family Friend / Dad” on the job application. Awwwww…

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Welcome to summer!

ARE YOU A FAST WALKER OR A SLOW WALKER?

EVER CRANK STARTED ANYTHING?

50 thoughts on “This Week”

  1. In my early 20s, when I thought it was cool to drive a roadster, I had an MGA, which came with a crank. It was NOT a good car, and I spent lots of time fixing things. (Because I fixed them, there was always a lot to re-fix.) I used the crank to start it a few times when the batteries (there were 2 6V ones behind the seat) were dead.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  2. I’m a slow walker. In addition to not really liking to walk fast, I have a long torso (for my height) which means short legs. And, of course the knees haven’t sped anything up.

    No crank starting that I can think of. I assume I can’t count the old gas mower or snowblower?

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. The pull cord on a mower or snowblower does the same thing as a crank. It manually turns over the engine, causing the spark plug to fire. Since the engine is oriented horizontally on that equipment, a crank on top would be awkward.

      Liked by 6 people

      Reply

  3. Can’t say I have ever crank started anything.

    I’m a reasonably quick walker, mainly because I like to get where I’m going, but I do get passed by most walkers when I’m out, so🤷.

    I have never really thought about the heat retention of aluminum foil, so thanks for looking that up. Now we know.

    I continue to live in the construction zone. Kind of glad to have the break this weekend, but also starting to look forward to being done.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    1. Nicolette Avenue from 50th to 53rd is out for a year and a half while they completely rebuild the bridge. Because I live between 50th and 53rd on Lyndale, I’m the new traffic route. The last two months since they did the shut down, the traffic‘s been awful. I expect it’s gonna be awful for quite some time.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

  4. Oh man, I love this about the zoom meeting: “…asking if I was coming to the meeting. I joined from the tractor.” Talk about a sign of the times!

    I’m not sure if I’d throw out that phone book, Ben… some day you’ll want to know what was some number or location in the distant past. (Now you know why I have a hard time with downsizing…)

    I probably used to walk a 20-minute mile, but Husband walks slower, so I’ve gotten used to slower, at least when I’m with him. I find I use your muscles differently with a slow walk than with a fast one.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  5. Grandson and I went to the History Center in Luverne yesterday and saw two Luverne Automobiles, one from 1909, the other from 1913 and a Luverne firetruck from 1917. They were all manufactured in Luverne. Grandson was fascinated by the crank starters in the front of the vehicles.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  6. Strictly from a physics aspect it seems to me that one uses the same amount of energy and burns the same calories whether one walks fast or slowly. It’s just a matter of moving a mass (one’s own) a certain distance. I understand there may be aerobic considerations but we’ll let that go.

    One is a fast walker or a slow walker only in comparison to another walker. What is normal walking speed? Who decides that and on what basis? I am probably a relatively slow walker. I am slow at accomplishing many things. I can walk faster when necessary but only if I concentrate on walking fast. When I think about things other than my walking speed my pace falls into a more relaxed and natural one.

    I am occasionally cranky but don’t get me started.

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

  7. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Ben, can you take that hand-crank seeder and use it to patch up the oat gap? And you are right–the old settlers were far tougher than me! I can only imagine the wear and tear on their bodies. We have a plastic, “updated” version of that. I have used it to seed Bee Lawn instead of turf. It does a pretty good job of even application of the seeds. But I do not want to walk 18 feet doing that. Yesterday I found a 5 leaf clover in the patch I seeded. That was a new one–is it extra good luck?

    I dimly remember that my grandparents had a crank on their old fashioned phone. But it was not in use when I came along, we just played with it. There was something similar on a fan, as well. It had a pull chain that started the fan and needed to be re-pulled about every 20 minutes. The other thing with a crank was a hand operated mixer-egg beater. The crank did not start anything, it just turned the mixer. There were hand operated drills like that, as well.

    I am a leisurely walker. I do not like to dawdle while walking, but I do not want to speed walk either. This puppy is a dawdler when walking, sniffing every little thing. My walking has slowed considerably during this arthritic hip phase of life. I can easily walk two miles now following hip replacement, but not as speedily as I used to walk, pre-arthritis.

    I am finally finished planting my gardens here, so today I am being lazy. I may read and watch a movie

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

      1. I still have my old-fashioned egg beater. I don’t use it too often, but I do use it when I make waffles to beat the egg whites

        Liked by 4 people

        Reply

    2. If you’re still looking for a good movie and haven’t seen Remarkably Bright Creatures, I will recommend it. As others have said before here, we don’t hear nearly enough of Marcellus’s voice but other than that, plot wise it’s sticks pretty close to the book. Netflix.

      Liked by 4 people

      Reply

      1. I would argue that Marcellus’ comments in the book are entertaining but that they sometimes wander out of his realm into topics, like the vending machine, that strain credulity.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

        1. The entire device of an octopus thinking and talking in English stretches credulity. But not as much as, say, the common device of time travel, or the fantasy character “Loki” who I find ridiculous. I could buy a talking octopus far more readily than time travel, etc.

          Liked by 2 people

        2. I have no problem with the author using language to convey Marcellus’ thoughts. Or, for that matter, the film expressing those thoughts in English to communicate them to us. What I find facile is the premise that Marcellus has himself learned English and can presumably eavesdrop to acquire vocabulary. Octopi don’t have hearing apparatus, as such. They apparently are able to detect vibration in the water within certain frequencies but normal human speech is outside that range and at any rate Marcellus would be unlikely to detect the vibrations of human speech through the heavy glass and the water. Sound and language is not an octopus’ means of understanding his environment.

          How much more interesting and less glib it might have been if the author had limited Marcellus to his actual capabilities, coming to an understanding of the thoroughly alien world around him through careful observation of all the creatures, both human and aquatic and their patterns, making analogies to the things he knows and, with his great intelligence, tying it all together.

          Liked by 4 people

      2. That is the one we chose last night. Sally Field was her usual entertaining self. I also enjoyed the performance of her grandson, but I cannot remember that actor’s name. The octopus filled the role of Marcellus admirably.

        Liked by 3 people

        Reply

  8. My mom had long legs, and I inherited many strange genetic traits from her except for the long legs. I have very short legs. To say my inseam is 29” is a bit of an exaggeration. I move right along with my short, stubby little legs though. I can’t physically be a fast walker, but I do try. My normal walking pace is quick, but not as fast as it used to be. I noticed myself slowing down once I started paying attention to the app on my watch. I just can’t walk as fast as I used to.

    I’ve used a hand crank coffee mill… does that count?

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  13. I’ll miss hearing about the Padawan, Ben. I hope he does well in his new job.

    My grandmother and aunts had hand-cranked beaters, but my mom didn’t have one, so I never got a chance to try them. When I was a kid in Girl Scouts, we made ice cream in a hand-cranked ice-cream maker. And as kids, we had a jack-in-the-box with a crank.

    I’m a fast walker. In grade school, I disliked walking in line because I always got stuck behind a slow kid. Husband doesn’t like to walk fast, so I slow down when we walk together.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  14. The only thing I have cranked is an egg beater – still have one but have not used it in a long time. Many years ago I got an emergency crank radio (from MPR) but have never had to use it.

    My usual walking pace is 3 miles per hour (20 minute mile) but right now I am walking slowly and carefully. For decades I have lived with little toes that curve towards the fourth toes which causes the development of corns next to the toenails. For most of my life they have not caused much of a problem. But over the past year they have become quite painful. On Thursday I had surgery on my little toes (done with only local anesthetic) to remove Lister corns (look it up on google) and straighten both toes. I can weight bear and drive right away but have to wear surgical shoes to protect the toes – even in bed. I look forward to walking pain free and at my usual pace within a couple of weeks – fingers crossed.

    Liked by 8 people

    Reply

  15. I used to walk reasonably fast but have slowed down considerably over the years. Now I barely walk at all.

    I have used hand cranked ice cream makers, lawn mowers, hand mixers and drills. I also hand cranked the wringer on my mother’s first washing machine.

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  18. Not a hand cranked thing, but as today I am meeting with a gathering of cousins, I am mindful of the player piano my grandparents had (and one of my cousins has to this day!). The gathering is at the home of the brother of that cousin and somewhere there may still be a picture of the two of us as toddlers pumping that piano- one pair of little feet on each pedal.

    Liked by 6 people

    Reply

  19. I do have a manual coffee grinder, egg beater, and drill. It’s nice to have options, in case the power goes out.

    I have a corded drill and a cordless drill, but both have their limitations. The one with the cord has a pretty short corde, so it usually requires an extension cord. The cordless needs to be charged in advance.

    I’m contradicting Ann Reed here, but sometimes it is just quicker to use the manual one, if the job is a simple one.

    Sometimes it is just quicker to use the manual one, if the job is a simple one.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  24. We’re just back from a celebration of 100 years for the Corner Store and Soda Fountain in Fountain City, WI (right across the river). Across the street was the local historical museum, where I saw both a hand crank Victrola, and a hand crank wall phone like my grandma’s…

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    1. Back when I was in college I had a hand-wound Victrola like that and a couple of portable hand-cranked phonographs. Also a collection of 78 rpm records that included WWI songs like “Goodbye Broadway, Hello France” and “We’re All Going Calling on the Kaiser” and “Just a Baby’s Prayer at Twilight (for her Daddy Over There)”

      Like

      Reply

Leave a comment