Today we brought our pups to Brandon. SD to be groomed. Our Cesky Terriers have a very specific hair cut, leaving them with a shaved back, tail, head, and ears, with a fluffy beard, eyebrows, chest, and ballerina skirt on their front and sides
Their longer fur is very curly and prone to matting. Last night I noticed lots of mats on Mitzi’s legs, so I grabbed my bottle of corn starch and the grooming comb I got from the breeder. The cornstarch really helps with detangling. I was able to get most of the mats out, so I hope today’s grooming won’t be so traumatic for her. She was so good and patient during my combing. The only problem with squirting the dog with cornstarch is that you can’t let them get wet afterwards.
My first haircuts were by Kay Aanenson, a rather flamboyantly gay barber on Luverne’s main street. I don’t remember this, but I was told that I cried the whole time, and Kay just stuffed chewing gum in my mouth to keep me quiet. Kay was a noted dancer of the Charleston, worked as a dancer on Atlantic cruise ships in the 1920’s and 1930’s, and wore very gaudy, colorful suits to our Lutheran church. He came to church every Sunday until he passed. I remember those suits.
I really need to brush out our dogs on a more regular basis. Mitzi loves to plunge in the water feature in our backyard, and I think that leads to more matting. I need to invest in more cornstarch.
Where was your first haircut? Have you had dogs who needed grooming?What is your favorite production of Anything Goes?
On Saturday, Husband, I, and Boommate met up with our son and his family for a Father’s Day hike at the Pipestone National Monument, aka The Pipestone Indian Shrine. (I don’t think 47 would like to see that name.) It is almost equidistant from both Luverne and Aurora, SD, where son and family live. Here are some park photos.
My mother’s family is from Pipestone. My Uncle Harvey’s old farm abuts the park. It is an odd place, consisting of a quartzite quarry surrounded by prairie with a creek. For hundreds of years, native tribes would come from all over the contnent and get rock for ceremonial pipes. It is a holy place, and there were many cloth prayer bundles tied up in the tree branches. There continue to be native carvers at the visitor center who make pipes. Husband’s is in the header photo. We bought it several years ago. Boommate made the case it rests on. We keep it in its case, as our native friends say it is disrespectful to display it.
On our hike through the park we ran into a graduate school friend of DIL who heads a program at SDSU for disadvantaged students to help them transition to university. The students were with him. He and DIL hadn’t seen each other for some time, and it was nice for them to meet up.
We have a Hidatsa Indian friend from the ND Fort Berthold Reserve who attended the Pipestone Indian School. It closed many years ago. He also worked briefly at the park visitor center as a pipe carver. All the staff at the visitor center are native, and Husband took a chance and asked the older woman at the checkout if she knew our friend, Leo. Well, of course she did, and knew his wife’s name and the name of the band he played bass guitar and drums in. She was so delighted she gave us a bunch of free bumper stickers!
It is a small world, and it was fun to feel connected in so many diverse ways.
When have you felt the world is small? Ever been to Pipestone?
The rain predicted for Wednesday morning evaporated before it got here. We just got sprinkles. And it’s still rather cool. A bit under normal temps. Growing degree units are still above normal, thanks to the early spring. Corn is already knee high, so that’s good. It’s almost canopied meaning that will keep the weeds down. The soybeans are maybe 6″ tall. Long ways to go for canopy for them. The co-op sprayed the soybeans for weeds this week.
One of Kelly’s co-workers was in a bicycle accident and has broken her clavicle. Her collar bone. And you all know there’s not much to do about that. Strap it to your chest and go about your day. This woman was back at work two days later. Typing with one hand. She’s a very busy person in the first place, and she said she was home staring at the walls, so she may as well be at work. With one hand. Been there, done that.
I was at a business the other day, and the clerk was typing with her two pointer fingers. And I thought again, thank goodness for 11th grade typing class. And I chose that myself; Mom and Dad didn’t even push it on me. And back in the 1980’s I don’t know why I would have thought that? But good for me. Glad I did. I’m still trying to learn the numeric keyboard without looking at it. 559096 3940 175 5607259357028593164 That was me trying to type out some familiar numbers without looking. It’s 85% accurate… Not quite good enough for my accounting though.
My brother-in-law is missing his left pinky finger. He says the Q and Z aren’t a big deal, but he sure misses the A.
I had election judge training this week; regular and head judge. And since I’ve been doing this for 20 some years, there’s not much to keep it interesting. So I turned it into a game of judging their grammar. They talked about when your vote has been “casted“ really? Casted? And at one point she said something was done “correctionally”. I spent a long time thinking about that. Is correctionally a word? I wanted to look around the room and say ‘did you all hear that? Is that what she said’? One guy talked about the “Safe At Home” program, but it sure sounded like he was saying “Save At Home”. Hmmm… Call me judgemental.
The farm this week has been odds and ends. I threw out a bunch of wildflower seed expecting rain. So now I’m out there with the water tank in the back of the gator getting that watered– fingers crossed. I figured if I didn’t water, it wouldn’t rain, and if I did water it would, so I watered. And it worked! We got just over half an inch on Wednesday afternoon.
Monday evening the dogs were barking at something down in the feedroom. Kelly had gone down and opened the door but didn’t see anything. At one point, Luna came and literally got Kelly. Clearly indicating she needed to come back down there. I went down to get some corn and when I turned on the auger to load more feed into the wall bin, a raccoon climbed out the top of the bin. She bounced off my shoulder and tried to make a get away. And there was the dogs and this raccoon at my feet. I have had my close encounters with raccoons before and didn’t really need another. At least I didn’t scream like a little girl this time, I just tried to get out of the way. Corn auger is still running, corn is spilling on the floor. It was a whole big thing.
Padawan is at a(nother) new job, so Padawan 2 is coming out to help. He’s been around before and he’s a good kid, too. I took the mower off the lawn tractor, sharpened the blades, replaced a spindle, (the bearing supporting a blade), changed the oil in the tractor and cut more grass. P2 replaced a carburetor on our secondary lawn mower, and we worked together replacing a fuel line between the tank and the fuel pump. Although it’s still not running. Hmmm…. While he was doing the carburetor I replaced the sediment bowl on Kelly’s C tractor. And that still leaks too. Geez, batting zero on these projects. P2 had success replacing a door latch and gas strut on a tractor door. We moved stuff around in the shed and got the corn planter and grain drill parked away until next spring.
We spotted this big moth on a tree.
What is this? It was about 3 inches tall. Six legs, furry antenna. Maybe a Cecropia?
The summer festival season has kicked off. It was the 152 Annual Viola Gopher count on Wednesday and Thursday with a parade and fireworks and a street dance. Daughter’s group usually goes to the parade, but she wasn’t really interested. She told me only lazy people go to parades. I tried to explain I didn’t think that was exactly true, but I had trouble not giggling and she’s not interested in rational explanations anyway. She likes to move, not sit and watch a parade. We let her stay home.
It’s also Elgin Cheese Days Thursday – Sunday this week. Carnival rides, food trucks, and more dancing. I drove through Elgin on Thursday, on my way home from getting more parts in Plainview. There were a lot of garage sales, and two little girls selling earrings on a boulevard. And the local strawberry farm has fresh strawberries. Oh My Goodness they’re good. They make my knee’s buckle they’re so good.
Peas are being harvested and guys are planting soybeans following the peas.
I needed a few new farm shirts, so I dug to the back of the closet, found a couple with long sleeves I haven’t worn in years. Cut the sleeves off and they’re having a new life.
Driving home from Plainview, I heard Spike Jones singing “Chloe”. If the title doesn’t ring a bell for you, allow me: A phone rings, he answers, he says, “You don’t say. You DON’T say. You don’t say.” Hang’s up. The band says, “Who was it?” Spike replies, “He didn’t say.” Then later, phone rings again, same bit. Again they say “Who was it?” “Same guy.” Makes me laugh every time. I looked up the song on YouTube. Following Spike Jones was Cab Calloway and the Nicolas Brothers. Now those guys could dance!
Kelly is hosting a ‘movie on the farm’ night for her work people. The Residents and Fellows in the Pathology program come out and we do a bonfire and show a movie on the side of the crib. This will be the fourth year. First year got rained out. Second year was sparsely attended. Third year was in September and it was so cold and rainy we moved it into the shop and machine shed and showed the movie on the shop door. It was a good crowd and they all had a good time. This year looks like sunny but cool weather. She gave them a choice of movie and I haven’t heard what it will be yet. They do a popcorn machine, a root beer keg, they got vanilla ice cream, and the fixings for S’mores. P2 and I got out some tables, and straw bales for seating, cleaned out the garage, and he cut grass.
It’s been a few years since YA and I traveled together. This is a four-day weekend trip that we’ve talked about for a few years now. Here are some interesting facts about our location:
Nearly half the residents of the US live near here
The gate to hell is hiding underneath North Street
Part of the Berlin Wall can be found here
Woody Harrelson was arrested in this city in 1982 before hitting it big in Hollywood
The Anthony Thomas Company makes 50,000 pounds of chocolate here daily, including their famous candy named after a state tree
The NFL was headquartered here from 1927 until 1938
Jack Hanna is Director Emeritus to one of the largest attractions of its kind in North America here.
Where in the world are we? (Bonus points if you can say WHY we’re here!)
Well, Kyrill’s worst fear has been come true: Mitzi can now jump up on the sofa all by herself. For Kyrill, this means that he has lost the “upper paw” he had with her.
Prior to last week, Kyrill could steal any of Mitzi’s toys and chew bones, jump up on the sofa with them, and she couldn’t do much about it. Kyrill and Mitzi both have a “I’ll have what she/he is having” attitude about possessions. They want anything the other has. Now that she can ascend the sofa, she can more easily steal things back from him. We are happy with this developmental milestone since we no longer have to hoist her up all the time. Cesky Terriers are long dogs with short legs, and her back finally got long enough. Kyrill was definitely stressed and needed lots of pets and reassurance after her sofa jumping became regular.
Despite vying for possessions, the two dogs are always close by one another and snooze right next to each other all the time. They remind me of human siblings, with Kyrill taking the role of an older brother who wants to be dominant over his younger sister but who still tries to take care of her.
What sibling rivalry did you experience? How did your family cope with it? If you have more than one pet how do they get along?
It has been a real eye opener moving here from the middle of nowhere on the Northern Plains. The weather here is far more changeable and unpredictable. Pickup trucks are fewer and smaller. Lots more bugs.
Sioux Falls is our “big town ” for shopping. It is only 24 miles away as opposed to Bismarck, our former “big town” that was 100 miles away. Trips to Bismarck were few and far between. Even so, we really don’t want to be running to SF all the time for things we need that we can’t get in Luverne. That means more ordering on-line.
We have been astounded by the speed on-line orders are delivered to us. The other day I ordered some bookends at about 10:00 am. They were delivered by 6:00 pm the same day. Other orders come overnight and are delivered between 5:00 am and 8:00 am. Is this normal? Does this happen elsewhere? I think if folks back in western ND knew this was possible, they would protest the wait times for their deliveries!
I wonder, though, how long deliveries across the country will be quick and speedy. The other day I got an email from a produce company in Oregon I often order celery root and savoy cabbage from. They were offering a $500 bonus to any customer who could recommend a CDL trucker who could deliver their produce. There seems to be a trucker shortage. Hmm. I wonder why?
Do you get orders delivered fast? Tell some delivery stories. Know any truckers?
The other night I got some mushroom ravioli out of the freezer. It was some pasta we moved from ND. It was purchased at our local ND Family Fare store.
The pasta was somewhat remarkable for being imported from Italy. It is a brand that Family Fare regularly stocks. I am not a big mushroom fan, but the pasta was pretty good. Our Boommate thought it was absolutely superb. She loves mushrooms.
It had porcini and champagne mushrooms in the filling. We looked up where we might find the brand, and it is specific to Family Fare. The closest stores to us are in Cannon Falls, Litchfield, and Northfield.
The day after we had the pasta, Boommate drove to St. Cloud for a quilt show. She reported massive construction detours, one of which took her close enough to Litchfield for her to justify a side trip to the Family Fare store. It had the pasta brand, but no mushrooms ravioli. Sigh.
I have made ravioli from scratch in the past, but I don’t think I could replicate the mushroom filling. I admire her determination to get to Litchfield. These days the farthest I drive for things is Sioux Falls.
What is the farthest you have gone to get something you really wanted? Ever made pasta from scratch?How are construction season and detours going for you?
Husband and I have very tall ceilings in our dining room, and kitchen. Most of the lights are recessed. These are the lights in the kitchen:
We haven’t had any bulbs burn out, but when we do I am afraid I will have to phone an electrician to come and change the bulb. We haven’t a tall enough ladder, and I can’t manage heights any longer.
The living room also has a very high ceiling with a large fan that works well to circulate air and keep the house cool. You can see it in the header photo. It is little too rococo for my tastes, and like many appliances in our new home it needed to be repaired. I had the electrician come over on Thursday to fix it. The fan worked, but made an intermittent grinding, scraping noise that was maddening to listen to. Sometimes it was quiet, sometimes it wasn’t. It is also very high up, and there was no way we could check it out ourselves.
The electrician figured out that one of the blades was not flush and was making the scraping noise. He told us it needed a very thin shim to raise it up, and that he would “MacGyver” something to solve the problem. It was quite a process to take the globe and other internal parts off to get to the blade turning mechanism, and he did it while standing atop a very tall ladder. He intended to use a very small, thin piece of wood as a shim. He inadvertently broke off the tip of his screwdriver in his attempt to raise the blade mechanism to put in the shim. To his surprise the metal tip stayed under the blade and was exactly the size shim he needed to keep it from scraping. Now it runs really quietly.
I was able to wash out the glass globe before he reassembled the fan. It hadn’t been cleaned out for a very long time. The electrician couldn’t “MacGyver” how to change the direction the fan blades circled, but at least it is quiet.
What have you had to “MacGyver”? Broke many tools? Got ceiling fans?
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.
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.
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.
I know. I know. All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. I had biology minor in college, and took an invertebrate zoology class where I learned that Rock County, where I currently live, is one of the very few counties in MN where they have termites that actually swarm. In ND, we had very few insects or bugs or other pests in the garden. We had the occasional flea beetle on the cabbagey plants. (I applied Sevin, but hated using a pesticide. ) No aphids. No slugs. None of those cane borers in the raspberries. Cabbage worms were easily dealt with by applying Bascillus Thuringiensis, a natural cabbage worm killer. We had virtually no mosquitoes due to being in a semi arid part of the country.
It has come to my attention that there are more insect/bug pests in MN than I remembered after being away for 50 years. I have had incredibly large carpenter ants in the house, presumably living in the decaying sections of our deck, and drain flies in my bathroom. We are planning how to replace the deck. Boommate has abandoned hopes of a hummingbird feeder due to ants getting into the sweet nectar she put out now on two occasions.. I have not yet seen a mosquito, but I am sure they are coming.
Our vegetables are planted in raised beds and thus far we have had no pest issues. A couple of weeks ago we had a pleasant guy from a pest control company come to the house to offer us pest eradication services for ants, hornets, and other home invasion pests. In the past I would have sent such a guy packing, since I hate the thought of pesticide use, but I engaged his services after finding out many of our neighbors enlist his company’s services. They may know more about potential pests than I currently know, and I don’t want any unpleasant bug surprises in the house.
What advice do you have for me regarding MN garden or house pests? What bug or insect issues have you successfully or not so successfully dealt with?
Trail Baboon 