2026, Farming Update, Uncategorized

Random Observations (and farming)

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This week’s farming update from Ben

First off, I am not a runner. Never have been and don’t expect I ever will be. So kudos to those of you that do get out there and run. Having said that, some runners have a much better form than others. And again, not criticizing anyone, this is just an observation. Some people just “glide” and they look so natural as they run. And others, they really don’t look like they’re enjoying it. And some look so “clunky”…I wonder if they’ll have joint issues in a few years. But still! At least they’re out there exercising. 

The amount of construction going on in Northwest Rochester is kind of mind-boggling. There is dirt being moved everywhere, and there are so many excavators and dump trucks and earth moving equipment…it’s a kids dream come true! Most of the construction is for apartment buildings. So I guess it’s good for those construction companies, and the operators, and good for the developers. I don’t know how good it is for everyone else. 

I was at this intersection Thursday:

Years and years and years ago, this was out in the country and this was a gravel road and I believe there was a trailer house in those trees. I remember going there to visit a friend of a friend or something. I don’t remember any of those details, but I’ve always had a good memory of locations and driving and I just know that I was there once. Now it’s a pretty major intersection on that northwest side of town, and I’m kind of surprised that the trees are still there.

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Back on the home front, the fire flies are back and that makes us happy. 

Daughter had a birthday and she’s now 31! Wow.

We finally got some rain. Wednesday afternoon about 4:30 we were getting a nice light rain shower and then suddenly the wind picked up. Kelly and I were both working in the office, and papers blew off the desk and she went to close one set of windows while I was closing another set and in that short amount of time, the wind shifted around to the south and the rain came HARD and it was starting to get a little bit scary, and about then it was over. And then I got a call about a tree down on a township road. I was changing clothes when I got another call about the same tree. We had a few branches down on our driveway but nothing serious. Before I got to that tree, a sheriff Deputy called to tell me the tree was down. Yeah I know, thank you. Before I got there, I found a second tree down. It wasn’t blocking the road, just on the shoulder. Got that one cut up got and got a call about a third tree down. Finally got to the first tree, the Deputy was sitting there with his flashers on. We talked township business for a bit and by that point a second supervisor had shown up and the two of us cut up the tree. It was a limb from an oak tree and a lot bigger than it looked in the picture.

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Objects may appear smaller than they actuallly are.

But we got it off the road, and we have a real good tree service the township works with. I told them they could come out the next day to pick up the mess.
The inch of rain that we got came pretty hard, pretty fast, and there was a little bit of erosion in my new waterway. The wind was so intense I saw some corn really bent over. It was about knee high and it should come back yet, but still, it is traumatic to the plant.  
I thought maybe the new tile and the springs would be running again but nope, hardly anything there. We’re gonna need more rain than this I guess to cure the drought.

Rebuilt a little bit of fence in the area we call the swamp. The neighbors said they’re gonna bring their cattle out this weekend. I redid one corner of the fence where I planted the Tamarac trees and one little area that we mow and I needed a little more room for the lawnmower. It gave me an opportunity to dig out some bags of electric fence insulators that I still have but typically wouldn’t need to use anymore. I had some barb wire left on an old roll that I’m pretty sure I got from Kelly’s dad 25 years ago. (Not having cattle myself, I happily quit making fence.) It probably would’ve rusted away except it got a bunch of oil spilled on it once and that’s kept it from rusting. Which is good cause I needed about 30 feet of that.

I finally got the dog wash in the garage hooked up and operating. We had hot and cold water added in the garage a couple years ago, and that’s been very helpful, and we had a drain line put in at the same time. I  built the walls and base and while I don’t have it tiled yet, I connected the drain and Luna and Humphrey both got baths.
Neither of them appreciated it as much as I did. But Humphrey did submit and stood quietly. He’s a good dog that way.

You smell like a wet dog Humphrey.

A niece and her husband came to visit along with their two girls. They have done a real good job convincing the oldest one how cool Uncle Ben and Aunt Kelly are. And when they come to Minnesota, going to visit Uncle Ben on the farm is a pretty big deal.
She throws out corn to the chickens, we collect eggs, we ride in the tractor and the gator.
She’s 5 1/2 years old. I might have a couple years yet that we are still cool.
Her little sister is about 2 1/2. She’s very busy. She’s figuring out we’re the cool aunt and uncle.


I think next week I’m gonna buy a couple bundles of shingles and re-shingle one side of the little building where we store bags of feed. The one side of the roof that needs work is only about 12′ x 8′. I shingled the south side several years ago but the North side desperately needs it.
I’ll get one of my summer kids to help shingle. A skill everyone should have.

Ever washed a cat?

Describe something graceful.

22 thoughts on “Random Observations (and farming)”

  1. Love the dog wash – what a good thing!

    I once tried to give one of our cats a bath – I don’t remember which one, and maybe was still a kitten. Never tried it again…

    Graceful is watching a heron or tundra swan rise up from the ground into flight.

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  2. Rise and Shine, Baboons,

    Ben, those strawberries in the sink are beautiful. I see a jigsaw puzzle in there. Are those gooseberries? From where?

    My clematis vines are quite graceful and viney right now, blooming abundantlly. I enjoy them a lot.

    Catwashing? Yes. But not willingly. They resist this procedure, but sometimes it is necessary. We had a kitty once that came to us with fleas, so a bath and un-fleaing was necessary. This was the Late, Great Felini. He was a very scrappy cat so there was a great deal of splashing and yowling.

    OT: Merlin. In the mornings I have been using the Merlin App to identify the many birds I hear. There are many, but yesterday Merlin identified a Great Horned Owl; this morning a Bald Eagle. While there are many of those around us, I did not expect one to come up on the app. However, I was aware we had some local raptors because I was finding baby bunny parts in my yard. There is one large, probably pregnant bunny hanging out in back, but many visible rabbits have vanished. Now I know who is the predator! My inner Farmer McGregor is not sorry.

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  3. I avoid bathing cats. Well, I sort of avoid cats these days. I’m not actually allergic to them, but they make my face and nose itch. Bathing a dog is more satisfying.

    I can think of so many things that I think are graceful: an osprey in a stoop about to plunge into the water; an egret poised near the edge of a dark pond in the evening; the way prairie flowers sway in a breeze; a newly emerged butterfly testing its brand new wings in a breeze; the way cats walk. Also, a different kind of graceful: the way Kristen Walker handled that recent interview with an angry toddler.

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  5. I’m excited to hear about the fireflies, Ben. They’re one of my favorite things about summer.

    Our first kitten used to have litter box malfunctions, and had baths regularly. He had a sweet personality and was pretty good about it. Another cat got into some oil and had to be bathed. The cat wasn’t happy, but we got through it. Bathing our current cat, Charlotte, is unthinkable. She hates water and freaks out at the slightest sprinkle. Just combing her requires leather gloves and lots of patience.

    Nature provides endless examples of gracefulness. Hummingbirds and dragonflies swooping and diving. Eagles soaring on air currents. Cats, wild and domestic. Tall grasses swaying in the breeze. Smoke curling up from a flame. People can be graceful too, especially doing something they’re good at: dancing, hitting a tennis ball, weaving, playing a harp…

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  6. This past week has been a wacky one here. Tuesday, I took the car in for maintenance, but decided to pick it up Wednesday morning, as it would be cooler. Around 3:30am we had a storm with serious winds roll through that took out a neighborhood tree and the power. That came back on so I went and got the car, but the power went out again until about 12:30, which slowed up the bathroom project a bit, but it was light enough, so some painting and caulking got done. By 5pm, my bathroom guy heard their power was out.

    Thursday I went to the market, only to discover they were closed, dealing with the power outage aftermath. Went back Friday and they were open, but the coolers were all pretty empty.

    Late last night/early this morning, I was glued to YouTube watching scaffolding and tarps concealing my old workplace being restored. Did my heart good, but boy am I temporally messed up.

    Side note: for those who might be wondering, the s&h still runs for miles and miles, but hasn’t raced since college. Still always has a book in hand.😀 Thankfully not when out walking any more.

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    1. Cat bathing? Only once, when I had an art class in grad school and had put some arylic paint on the disposable pallet. Kitty came over and plopped right on it. Knew a tummy full of purple plastic would do yer no good so grabbed her and got her under the sink before either of us could think about it.

      Never again.

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  8. I’ve been watching way too many Samoyed and Irish Setter videos recently. And there is nothing like a slow motion Irish Setter running through a yard or through a field. They are so beautiful and graceful … until they trip over their own feet and fall on their face.

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  10. You are not supposed to bathe adult cats unless some traumatic event happens like bathing in oil. Their own self washing techniques are more than adequate. Ask a vet if you doubt this.

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  12. had a cat who liked baths but it just didnt come up too often
    graceful…ive got a reoccurring dancer who keeps finding that my watching until thecend of her video that i am likely to stay to the end of the next one

    tim

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