The last couple of weeks Guinevere and I have repeatedly passed by a house on the parkway with one toddler’s pink shoe sitting on the front post of someone’s house. It is still in good shape (despite a couple of storms) but it does look a little forlorn. If YA had lost this shoe as a toddler, I might have re-traced our steps to find it but there are probably several good reasons why the shoe remains all by itself.
It makes me think about the socks that go missing in life. This time of year I spend more time thinking about socks; winter socks are bigger and harder to mis-placed. I mostly wear little no-show socks (if I’m wearing shoes) and I often find one of the missing when I fold up my weekly laundry. I’ve developed a short process when this happens.
As I sort and fold laundry, I tend to shake it out a bit. If a sock is missing, I may unfold, shake and refold any likely suspects who might be holding onto a sock, especially the fitted sheet. If that doesn’t turn up the missing footwear, then I head down to the basement to check the dryer and the washing machine. If I am still single-socked, then I put the lonely sock into a little box that I keep in my closet. Then when its mate shows up, I put them together and replace them in the sock drawer.
Eventually I go through the single sock box and get rid of any inmates who have been there for a long long time. Right now there are four socks in the box and none of them are likely to get paired up again.
How to you deal with lost socks, shoes, gloves? Do you have a process? How long to you keep single items before despairing of finding their mates?
You all know that one of my favorite parts of summer is going barefoot, or wearing zorries, which is pretty much the same as going barefoot. If I’m dressing up I might put on one of my pairs of Birkenstocks, but that’s as much as I like to encase my feet at this time of year.
The exception is when I’m walking the dog. I should say that I CAN walk the dog wearing zorries – my feet can handle it, but I sometimes worry that if Guinevere takes off after a squirrel or rabbit and surprises me, zorries might not be the best footwear in an emergency. So I wear tennies. And socks.
That’s where my doggy dilemma comes into play. Guinevere, whatever issues she may have, is pretty smart and has definitely figured out that my putting on tennis shoes almost always means she is going for a walk. Like all dogs, she loves the walk and from the minute the shoes go on, she begins to prance around, whine and bark until her halter is on and we are out the door. This is very annoying and it’s not something I’ve ever had to deal with in all my life with dogs.
I’ve tried putting on the shoes 15 minutes ahead of time and spending time picking up or doing dishes, but so far this hasn’t fooled her. The minute there is a whiff of walk, she starts her impatient song and dance. I wonder if I have to just bite the bullet and occasionally put on the shoes, hang out at home and then take them off and not involve a walk at all. I’m pretty sure she’ll figure this out as well.
My bales are doing quite well this summer. I’m managing to keep them watered and the added calcium seems to be helping the romas keep their beautiful shape. We planted watermelon plants on one bale and as expected they are going crazy. Guinevere is enjoying hiding beneath all the tendrils that have exploded all over the place.
As well as they are doing I didn’t expect to be eating my first cherry tomato on July 3. I knew that there were a couple starting to turn but was surprised to find THREE ready for picking yesterday afternoon. The photo above is not the tomatoes I picked. After a quick squirsch of the hose, they went straight into my mouth, one after the other. All three were wonderfully sweet and juicy – no way was I waiting to go inside and get the camera.
I know this is early for tomatoes but whatever goddess of the garden is looking out for me right now, I’m thankful! Better start pulling out my favorite tomato recipes.
I saw one field of peas that had been harvested, and I saw two fields that were pretty yellow. They got harvested and then hog manure was applied to them. Most likely the farmer will plant soybeans on it. (That’s about the only crop that can mature quickly enough when planting in July). Will the manure provide enough moisture to get the plants going? We shall wait and see.
The peas were pretty short and the farmers get paid by the ton for the harvested peas. Won’t be much profit there this year.
Fourth of July coming up and the corn has made knee high.
The short corn is knee high; the taller corn is up to my waist. The taller was planted May 5, then it rained for 10 days. The shorter stuff I planted May 18th.
I’ve heard a lot of farmers say the genetics for the seed has improved so much that 20 or 30 years ago, the crop never would’ve survived a drought like this. I know drought tolerance is something the dealer’s market in the seed, I just hadn’t really seen it like this.
I did have the soybeans sprayed. The fields are still pretty bare, but the weeds would have taken over, so they needed to be stopped if I wanted any hope for a crop.
I’ve been surprised at the quantity of the second crop of alfalfa that I’ve seen. No rain, and yet the yield was almost as good as first. The roots of alfalfa can be pretty deep. They’re finding water.
Weeds too; deep roots. I took some close-up photos of the corn leaves curling up compared with how it should look.
The agronomists say we’re having a lot of potassium deficiency, which makes the edges of the leaves turn yellow. The dry weather inhibits potassium uptake, and limits stalk strength, which could be an issue later this fall.
This week I hauled two loads of junk to the recycling center and two loads out to the scrap iron place.
I had two electric motors that are sold by the pound and the price was $.20 / lb for that, 5 pounds of copper at three dollars a pound, three old batteries totaling 58 pounds $0.10 / lb, and some bulk aluminum from a TV antenna, and some other odds and ends, That went for $0.15 / lb. I took out this old metal chopper box, which weighed 2120 lbs and they subtracted 250 pounds for the wood floor and beams under it which sounds reasonable. The price for scrap was down from the last time. It was $130 a ton which is better than the $90 something it was in December but not as good as the $200 something in March.
The farm is really shaping up. I’ve cleaned out a lot of random corners and I have a wagon full of stuff to put back when I’m done. I’m almost done with the ‘demo’ part of my shop remodeling; 99% of stuff is moved out, and what’s left to do is removing and moving some electrical wires. I’ve had an electrician out and we’ll be running a new buried line from the pole 300’ over to the shop. Currently the power goes overhead to an old fuse box in the old corn crib, which is the chicken pen now. Then it’s buried 200’ from there to the old shed and another old fuse box. And from there, buried to the new shop and another old fuse box. Old fuse boxes with the 60 Amp cartridge fuses in the block to pull out. I remember dad digging in the line between the two sheds. And I remember him somehow finding a break in the old line between crib and shed and splicing a wire back together. It’s time to abandon that line and upgrade.
I’ve got steel and lumber ordered for the ceiling, I’ve got some of the windows framed in and I finally got the hydraulic hoses replaced on the loader and added the new plumbing that I needed for the grapple. (It took several trips back to the John Deere dealer, but we got it!)
We had trees trimmed, and I got branches laying all over. Three maple trees that had a lot of dead wood in them. One tree I was worried about falling on the wellhouse, one I was worried about falling on some electric lines to the barn, and one tree in the front yard more dead than alive. It’s the swing tree so had to save that part of it. There are pictures of that tree from 50 years ago and the tree seems like it was the same size then.
The baby chicks and guineas are doing well. Here’s a picture of the big chickens too.
We gave Bailey a haircut the other day. She looks like a totally different dog. And we think she really likes it. She doesn’t have nearly so much hair to get cockleburs or burdocks stuck in. I think she just liked the attention. I kept her distracted and amused, while Kelly used scissors and trimmed her up. At one point she lay down on her back and almost went to sleep, so I think she was enjoying the attention.
Humphrey and Bailey sure do play well together; they have such a good time. Humphrey is twice as big as Bailey and he spins in circles and takes her whole head in his mouth, and she just lays there and waits for him to stop. Then she goes after him. It’s fun to watch them play.
Humphrey has three pillows in the house, one in the living room, one in the office, and one in our bedroom. Although in the bedroom, he alternates between the pillow on my side of the bed, or the floor on Kelly’s side of the bed, or sometimes at the foot of the bed. Ever have one of those nights you just can’t get comfortable?
I find it fascinating how he knows the subtleties of our schedule. If I get up and go to the bathroom, he doesn’t move, but it seems like if I put deodorant on, then he knows I’m going out. And he will be up and moving before I get to the bedroom door. Same thing if he’s lying in the living room. If I get up to go to the kitchen he doesn’t move, if I get up to go outside, he knows and he’s down the steps before me. What subtle clues is he picking up?
Remember back when you were dating? I was never very good at subtleties then.
CAN YOU TAKE A HINT? HOW ARE YOU AT GETTING SUBTLETY?
I realized yesterday morning watching our Cesky Terrier shake, tug, and try to destroy his various toys that he is a frustrated scent hunter who wants to find, shake, and kill vermin. His play was very serious. When he insists we tug with him, he tugs as if his life depends on it, with all the accompanying growls and snarls. I wished we lived closer to places that had barn hunts for Kyrill to use his scent skills and have fun working.
We have had terriers for about 35 years, and their one defining characteristic is their turning work into play, as well as games.
Kyrill has turned getting taken for a walk into a game. He sees the leash taken out, and immediately runs twice around the dining room table, evading all efforts to catch him, and then dives under a living room lamp table and waits for Husband to grab him by the collar, attach the leash and go for the walk. Sorting laundry is also a game, as he waits for any opportunity to steal a sock or bra and chew it up. He is on tiptoes the minute he hears the dryer or washer open, follows us, and creeps up stealthily as though the clothing is vermin.
I can’t for the life of me figure out how we have behaviorally reinforced these things. We are psychologists, you know, and we ought to know this. Terriers can outsmart anyone!
What animal has outsmarted you? How do your pets turn things into games? How do you turn the everyday into games?
We’ve got the 5 little guineas in the entry way yet, but one of them jumped to the top of the water bottle, and it’s only one more hop out of the box, so we’ll need to get them in the big tank down in the crib soon. (In fact, an hour after I wrote that, it was out) One of them has a bad leg; seems like it’s up at the hip, and it’s out sideways. We’ve tried to make splints for it, and we tried wrapping the leg up to the body. That was something; the chick sure didn’t like any part of this. Didn’t like being picked up in the first place, didn’t like being manipulated, and didn’t like the wrapping job. I got the wrap to stay on for about 3 minutes. Course I was holding onto it for 3 minutes… once I set it down the wrap was off.
Google has lot of suggestions on this. We need to try it again.
We’ve been watching a red headed woodpecker mom and dad feed their family. A maple tree with one large dead limb full of holes and the woodpeckers climb halfway into this hole and we can hear the babies chirping.
And one morning, I saw a heron flying away. It was right by the barn and it wasn’t very high yet; not sure where he came from. They’re always fun to see.
I was mowing some grass the other day down behind the barn and knocking down some tall grass that had been too wet to mow earlier this year, and one of the roosters killed a large mouse. He was pecking at something and backing off, then going in again. I’ve heard of chickens getting mice before, yet I’d never seen one. They didn’t eat it.
The lightning bugs are back. It’s fun to watch them at night over the corn fields. There’s an article in this month’s Smithsonian Magazine about a guy studying fireflies. Did you know they’re classified as beetles? They’re not “bugs”.
Bailey has finally started to shed and she loves being brushed. Except back on her hips; she doesn’t like that. Humphrey loves being brushed too and he’s got a bit of undercoat coming off, but not as much as Bailey.
The auction is happening this week where I took the fertilizer wagon. It runs through next Tuesday. I’m bidding on a few things too. With any luck, I’ll come out ahead on this deal and not in the hole. Normally it’s the last hour the bidding frenzy happens so we’ll see.
Crops:
I talked with crop insurance last week. Soybeans can be replanted, and still covered by insurance, until July 5th. Of course the shorter season varieties produce less too. And unless it rains, there’s no point planting anything. The co-op is ready to spray for weeds, which is the only thing making the fields look green right now, lambs quarter and velvet leave. Stupid weeds. The wild turkeys are out there digging up soybean seeds, and the deer are eating the tops off the corn. Stupid turkeys, stupid deer.
I’m at a point, I’d almost rather it didn’t rain until mid-July. By then, we could skip the expense of spraying the beans, declare them a loss and plow it up. Just be done with it. If we do get rains this weekend, Then I will need the co-op to spray so I’ll have that expense, and we’ll see what kind of stand I get going. Replanting in July is tougher as it all depends on the weather this fall. PHOTO
I just read an article from the University of MN Extension service, saying you can tell how stressed the corn is by what time of day the leaves curl up. The sooner they curl, the more stressed it is. Here’s my corn at 10:00 AM.
Here it is at 4:00 in the afternoon.
I noticed on Friday, the corn was curled up at 11AM.
The oats is all headed out and we’ll see how that does. I haven’t heard much from the food oats people since spring.
My shop project progresses. I sure do have a hard time focusing on any one project and getting it done. I have my weekly ‘to do’ list, plus a general ‘do this summer’ list. And something like ‘replace tractor light’ gets more involved because the connector isn’t the same between tractor and the new light and I ordered some connectors which fit the tractor, but not the light, and so I had John Deere find the right ones and I’ll pick up. And the tractor cab roof light bezel I did get replaced. Took me about 6 trips climbing up on top of the hood as I had the wrong wrenches the first 4 times. (brain fart) then one of the wires had come loose inside. They work now.
When I write down an item like ‘Install window’ it is a lot more complicated than that. I have built all three rough opening frames. But now I need to mount them on the wall, cut out the steel, frame up the opening, and then figure out how we’re going to get this 250 lb. window up there outside. I need some strong young men or women. 🙂
I also need to remove a lot more stuff in the middle. I move something every day and it’s getting cleaner. I predict the first snow storm in December and I’ll be scrambling to finish some part of this to get machinery in the shed. I’m telling you right now, that’s what’s going to happen.
I reserved a scissor lift this morning to pick up on July 7. There, now I have a deadline to work towards; I need the floor area mostly clear, I need the walls mostly clear and with the lift I can install ceiling joists and steel and seal off one rafter, and then I can call for insulation on the walls and above the ceiling.
I made sure I dressed the part before I went into the rental place. Sometimes when I take daughter into her programming I just wear my crocs. It’s a rule, you can’t wear crocs into an industrial place like this and order big boy toys. I made sure I was wearing my boots, and a dirty enough hat, my sleeveless shirt, and I dropped enough names so they know I know what I’m doing.
I haven’t had to buy any new tools for this project. Yet. I may pick up something at this auction, but that’s not directly related to this project. I’m still using the worm drive circular saw Kelly gave me for my Birthday back in about 1992. It’s a great saw!
DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE BLIND MAN THAT PICKED UP HIS HAMMER AND SAW?
Our low to the ground Cesky Terrier needed a bath last night. His furnishings and skirt are easier to comb through if he has just been bathed and conditioned, and he was a dirty, tangled mess. His breeder recommended Pantene shampoo and conditioner since it doesn’t dry the dog’s skin. My dog has nicer shampoo than I do!
Our dog loves his baths. We keep dog towels in the entryway closet, and when he sees me take them down he races to the bathroom, sits by the tub, and looks expectantly at me. I have never seen a dog who liked baths as much as our current terrier. Our previous Welsh and Fox Terriers hated their baths and tried to avoid them. I attributed it to their bring earth dogs and being uncomfortable in deeper water. They hated going to lakes. Our Cesky is as earthy as they come, but we have never had him to a lake to see how he would approach the water.
There were after-bath zoomies, of course, and then I brushed and combed out his tangles. He seemed pretty happy.
Any interesting pet bath stories? What is your philosophy on hair care products?What sort of bathtub would you like in your bathroom?
I got a farm magazine the other day and one of the headlines is: “Baby kangaroo poop may hold the key to reducing cows’ methane emissions”. Huh. I googled ‘baby Kangaroo poop’ because I was curious about how many hits there would be on that and how much research has been done on baby kangaroo poop. 2,070,000 hits. I didn’t venture past page 1, and most of the sites are what it’s like inside a kangaroo pouch and how to they stay clean? Which is a good question that I hadn’t thought about before. (The mama ‘roo licks it out to keep it clean. Plus, she produces antimicrobial substances which helps it all stay OK in there.) The things you learn.
And in regard to cows’ methane emissions, “… previous studies had already shown that instead of producing methane, the kangaroo microbes produce acetic acid. Further research revealed that the bacteria only occurs in baby kangaroos, not adults.” *
And the acetic acid prevents methane from producing. It’s been tested in the lab. The next step is testing in live cattle. And the hope is to add it to the diet of cattle. Hmm.
When does a dog start to shed? What triggers that? Bailey still has her thick winter coat and she’s not shedding yet. We’ve been brushing her, and she hasn’t lost much yet. I know other years, it was hot and well into summer before she started to shed. We should just take her to a groomer and get her a haircut.
The crops need a rain. We’re at 770 GDU’s; +245 over normal.
Oats is shorter than we’d like considering it was planted April 14. Corn is doing OK yet. And the soybeans… well, they need a rain to get going. If a seed is sitting in dry dirt, it won’t sprout. It’s hard to believe just a few weeks ago I had wet fields, but the top 3 inches are dry now and the fields are rough looking.
They always say to get seed in the ground ASAP. Beans that were planted two week before mine had the moisture and look good.
This year, just for the heck of it, when planting soybeans with the drill, I left two rows open, plugged one, left two open. That makes 2 rows 7.5” apart, then a 15” gap, then 2 more 7.5”. Why not try it I figured.
We had a baby chick hatch in the incubator last Sunday evening. (S)he was a week early! I wasn’t expecting any until next Monday, the 12th! It’s usually 28 or 29 days to hatch baby chicks or guineas. Guess the mom had been sitting on this one a few days already.
Well, s/he did fine and it’s in the pen with the mail order chicks which arrived on Tuesday. Everyone is doing well so far.
Other projects at home this past week, I got the corn planter and drill cleaned out and put away, outside for now. The concrete guys are here working on my outside slab. I am VERY excited for this outside slab!
I’ve also got the new pump for the pressure washer, I’m rebuilding the fuel sediment bowl on the old 630 tractor, I’ve cut grass, I’ve ordered lumber and picked up some ‘re-stock’ windows for the shed project. I returned my extra seed, and I hauled that fertilizer wagon to the auction site. Normally, you can’t really exceed about 25 mph when towing a wagon. They don’t trail very well and will sway left and right. I could do 26 mph with the fertilizer wagon and only have a little sway. Any faster than that and it swayed crazily. Get that sway bad enough and it will flip the wagon over on it’s side and mess up your day.
I was 15 miles from home with 5 miles to go and in the mirror, I saw a mouse climbing up the wagon frame. Wow! I thought, 1) Where did he come from; where had he been hiding?? And 2) he’s going to be so confused when we get there! But about then he lost his grip and fell to the road. He failed to scamper away for the few seconds I could still see him. Yeah, some trip.
We had one guinea chick hatch on Wednesday, I could hear it cheeping before s/he even got out of the shell. Number one, he’s a crazy chick! Kelly calls him ‘Speedy’. I think s/he, the chick, really just want’s a friend.! Thursday another started to hatch, but s/he didn’t get out very fast, and that membrane dries up and gets hard and I finally cut him out. He took a long time to come around, but he’s doing real well now. And Friday morning we had 2 more. They’re all crazy!
And at the theater, we finally have working AC in the theater! It took 10 months from when we first moved the seats and painted ductwork.
Volunteers painted that in August and it got hung up, got beams on the roof in January, the rooftop unit arrived in May, and then it was just finishing the ductwork connections. And I’ll tell ya, that was far more complicated than I expected! It was really interesting observing the guys doing it.
But now it’s so cold in the theater, I may need sleeves!
Oh. terriers!! Ever since we got our Cesky Terrier in May, 2022, we have kept the basement door shut to keep him from going into the basement to chase the cat and do indiscriminate marking to claim the territory as his own. This rather isolated the cat, but we tried to give her as much attention as we could.
Being a terrier, Kyrill turned getting to the basement into a game and a challenge. He would wait for any opportunity to get down there, lurking to see if we forgot to shut the basement door, then racing down the stairs, chasing the cat, and eating her food.
We picked him up from the boarding kennel yesterday, and I decided to change strategies regarding the basement. Before we picked him up I put a gate in front of the basement room where the litter box and cat food resides so the cat could get in but Kyrill couldn’t. He was so excited to see us when we got him home that he didn’t even notice the basement door was open. Once he noticed, he immediately ran downstairs, but, because we didn’t chase him and because he wanted to be with us he came right back upstairs. He ran up and down rapidly a couple more times, but eventually settled on the sofa with me. The cat walked into the livingroom several times and he ignored her.
I could kick myself for not doing this earlier. Now I have a much happier cat who can wander upstairs as she wishes, and a dog who is probably waiting for an opportunity to make some other activity into a game.
Why is it we want what we can’t have? What have you wanted and then regretted once you got it?
Another week of life being relentless… I’m tired and I can’t keep two coherent thoughts together so this week’s blog will be basic highlights and a bunch of photos.
*I did finish planting corn. Except for about 2 acres that are wet. But I’ll get to them soon.
*Working on planting soybeans. Hoping to finish on Saturday.
*The college show opened on Wednesday and the paint was dry and it’s a good show. The set isn’t my best, but it works.
*We’ve had 4 sandhill cranes hanging around.
*The lilacs are looking – and smelling – so good!
*Every morning, I let Humphry out, and Bailey comes in to get a morning greeting and some attention for a minute. Then she’s happy to go back out.
*For the first time ever, I kinda got tired of music in the tractors. I listened to podcasts: Moth Radio hour, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Radiolab, and my frequent standby: Light Talk. (Imagine the Car Talk guys, doing a show about lighting).
*Kelly and I picked up some very large limestone rocks using an old thing called a ‘Slip Scraper’ or ‘Buck Scraper’. Clyde, you ever use one of these? This has been behind the shed for years. It’s missing some handles, but we made it work carrying rocks.
*The coop applied fertilizer for soybeans.
*Next week is all about lighting the next show in my schedule.
*My last day at the college for this academic year is May 31. I probably won’t have all my work done; I may have to stop in the next week just to finish what I don’t get done this week.
But then, THEN, the pace will slow down and I can start working on my new shed space.
Have a safe and peaceful Memorial Day weekend!
Here are photos:
Planting CornTracks in the DirtTractor BuddyViewViewViewMinnesota RockKelly with RocksBuck ScraperLoaded Buck ScraperGoofballCoop SpreaderLoading SeedAnother Tractor BuddySeed Camera View
Planting corn, the tracks in the dirt, my tractor buddies one day, my view from the tractor front and back, a rock shaped like Minnesota (that was really heavy!), Kelly and her second load of rocks, the “buck scraper”, A goofball, the coop’s fertilizer spreader, loading soybean seed from the trailer, Another tractor buddy, and the camera’s showing the seed in the drill.
Where and what was the best burger you ever had?
(The first time I had a ‘blue Burger’ ((blue cheese on a burger)) was at a bowling alley and it was FANTASTIC and none have compared to that one.)
Trail Baboon 