Category Archives: pets

2023, animals, Farming Update, gardening, Nature, pets, Theatre, Uncategorized

Nice Things

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

We finally had a hard freeze, 27° at our house Tuesday night. It finally killed off that wild tomato plant that was taking over the driveway. There was still a ton of green tomatoes on there. That was some plant.

The soybeans had pretty much reached maturity; they had lost about 50% of their leaves, so there will at least be a crop there. They’re short and the beans will probably be small, but it won’t be a total loss. The people who do my harvesting said they’re just about done with their beans, which is pretty impressive. It’s just the way this year will be: lower yields mean the combine can drive faster in the fields, lower yields mean fewer truckloads, which means it doesn’t take as long. 

I’ve been delivering some straw lately for mulch, or some to put around trailer homes, or to cover their garlic. Even some for ‘pumpkin bowling’ at a church.

The 40th anniversary for the Repertory Theatre went real well. A lot of good compliments and it was fun to see some people from when the theater first started, including one gentleman that I didn’t think would even remember me just because I didn’t have much to do with him. But he had some pretty good stories and once again, you never know the impact of your actions. I didn’t know Jeff had moved into Dave‘s apartment because Dave had moved in with Skip. I didn’t realize Kim, who was filling a sabbatical at WSU, had brought in Kris and Jeff because they were students.  Dare I say a nice time was had by all. There was a champagne reception and showing my age again, some of the people didn’t know how to open a champagne bottle. I knew. I was in a cast one that won a cast party battle of drinking more champagne / person than any other cast. 2+ bottles / person one night. I haven’t liked champagne since. Ah, to be young.

I talked about naming calves after people at the theater. The header photo is Michael, Thom, and Kim in the theater office about 1985.

The puppy. I guess we have a new dog. She does need to pass a few tests yet, Humphrey hasn’t totally accepted her and she needs to not eat chickens.

But she and Humphrey are getting acquainted, and I think Humphrey has relaxed a little. He’ll stress out again if she comes in the house. He’s the biggest dog, and he’s also the most sensitive.

This puppy, which we think looks like a German Shorthair Pointer Pitbull mix, (sometimes called Pointerbulls), has a lot of attitude. She’s only half Humphrey’s weight and size, but the attitude coupled with her puppy eagerness will be a lot for Humphrey to put up with. The vet discovered she does actually have a chip, but they said it was not registered. Then they talked to a place in Oklahoma that tracked her to someone in Oklahoma. That woman gave the puppy to her cousin, who moved to Rochester, and into an apartment building where she couldn’t keep the dog, and that woman gave puppy to someone else. The veterinarian’s office gave us this man’s name and phone number, and when we called there, a woman answered the phone who knew nothing about a dog and no person of that name. The cruelty of people dumping animals is just abhorrent. This puppy is so smart! She’s potty trained, she’s very good on a leash, she knows basic commands, she loves to fetch, and does she have a lot of energy! We’re still looking for a suitable name.

We got a truckload of dirt / mulch on Wednesday afternoon and filled in a space Kelly has been working on all summer. Wanted to get that in place before it rained. Any fresh laid dirt we have to cover with plastic snow fence to keep the chickens from rooting it up, and even the dogs from digging.

Chickens.

And this is why we can’t have nice things…

DID YOU HAVE A NICKNAME GROWING UP?

(Of course, we want to know what it was!)

2023, animals, Family, Farming Update, Nature, pets, Theatre, Uncategorized

Crisis

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben

“Any idiot can face a crisis; it’s day-to-day living that wears you out.” – Anton Chekhov

Sometimes near the end of the day, Kelly and I hug, and sigh, and comment on the plain, old, day to day living. And then we go do something else that needs to be done for the day.

This weekend the Rochester Repertory Theater opens their 40th Season. There’s a celebration planned. Preparations for that have kept us busy for a while. Of course, there’s a committee and some people handled food, some set up lobby displays, Kelly found and organized old photos of shows and people. I mounted a TV in the lobby and some other misc things. It’s been really fun to go back through these old photos. I started at the Rep when I was 20. It was 1984. Of the four founders: Thom, Kim, and Michael had gone to college together. They brought in Jeanne, whom Michael knew, and the Rep was off and running. I came along shortly after that when I worked a show with Michael at another theater, and he invited me to help out at the Rep. Thom was one of my mentors. I learned a lot from him. Kim is the philosophical one. I learned a lot from him too.

Especially at that age! Do you remember all the stuff you did then? With the whole wide world open in front of you?? We did some crazy stuff. From the banner over Broadway, to the all night cast parties, to the floats in parades, and the acquisition of lumber. They are great memories.

We’ve all been there; young and broke and you did what you had to do to survive. It’s where I ‘courted’ Kelly. I had met her at the Rochester Civic Theater, but I got her to work on a show at the Rep. That way I knew where she’d be every night. (Another fun fact; the Rep was performing at the college that summer, in Hill Theater, where I now work. We joke we courted in the parking lot.)

But that fact we made it forty years. Wow. It wasn’t always easy, and there was talk of closing the doors a few times. Our Treasurer, Mark, had more than a few sleepless nights. It will be fun to catch up with people and visit with people we haven’t seen in 30 years. I was in some shows, as well as working backstage. When the guys gave me a key to the building, little did they know what they were getting in me. But I thought I was pretty hot stuff to get a key! I named calves after everyone. In those days before photoshop, I would make two copies and would cut out the calf photo and stick it on a photo of their theater office.

This was me in the show “Loot!”

Some of the neighbor’s cows came to visit one day. Our regular rental cows are about ready to go back home, so the guys are letting them come into the barn yard and will haul them out one of these days. So, when I saw a cow there, I wasn’t too surprised. But Kelly said it was an unusual coloring. It was an Oreo cow and I know we don’t have one of them in the pasture. Been a while since I had to chase a cow. At least it wasn’t midnight in a cornfield and chasing cows by sound. Been there done that and it’s a miserable experience. These two cows were already in the yard, so we just had to lock them in the pole barn, and call the neighbor, and he showed up with his trailer and one went in easy while the other one had to make 3 trips around the pen and scatter us a few times before she went in. I told them I didn’t miss chasing cows.

One morning as I made a sandwich for work, the bread drawer became too much even for me. I keep a supply of twist ties in there; never know when you might need one. But the crumbs, the excessive supply of twist ties (seriously, when’s the last time I used one??) and the package of tortilla shells that expired in June. Sigh. Cleaned it all out, vacuumed it, And, it made me happy. Sometimes we just hit our limit. Sometimes it’s the little things.

Picked up a stray dog for the township. She’s a sweetheart. I don’t know if we’re keeping her yet. Our existing dogs aren’t sure yet. Especially the chickens aren’t sure. No collar and haven’t found any missing dogs matching her description. I’ve told the deputies we have her. We’ll see. You’ll know if she’s still here next week.

Oh. The Farm update. A lot of neighbors are going on soybeans. Mine are still turning color and starting to lose some leaves. The rye is growing, along with the oats left in the field, (header photo) but at least it looks pretty good. The corn. It’s odd how there will be green plants right next to dried out plants. I’m not sure what’s up with that. Different maturity seed in the bag?

Fall is here. We’ll be completing the circle soon.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF FROM YOUR YOUTH?

2023, animals, Mysteries, Nature, pets

Ginkgo Conundrum

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I don’t think of myself as clueless but I will admit that most of the time my brain is going 100 miles an hour and I’m not always as observant as I would wish.   

Dog walking has returned to my schedule now that I’m RE-retired. We normally go for 45 minutes to an hour.  I tend to wander around Tangletown or towards Lake Harriet; I like the neighborhoods and I don’t think Guinevere cares where we go as long as we go.  So if you count all the walking we did during pandemic/furlough as well, we’ve probably trekked down Belmont Avenue 50 times in the last couple of years.  But it wasn’t until last week that I noticed the ginkgo leaves on the sidewalks.  The first one I noted, the second one I noted and after the third one, I looked up and down the street.  With few exceptions, all the boulevard trees from 51st all the way to Minnehaha Parkway are ginkgos.  And they are big, sturdy trees – obviously planted decades ago.  Just lovely.

I did a little bit of research and found that the city has always controlled the boulevard trees but I can’t find anything on why this particular stretch was planted with ginkgos.  The current policy, thanks to Dutch Elm disease and the Emerald Ash Borer, is to diversify trees on the boulevards so going forward I doubt any replacement trees on Belmont will be gingkos, although if it were my boulevard, I might petition hard to get a gingko replacement!

How should I focus so I can be more observant?

2023, Family, pets, Uncategorized

The Burden Of Beauty

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The breed standard for our Cesky Terrier calls for a rather long skirt and long fur on the legs, with long bangs that go all the way to the tip of his nose. The fur on his skirt and legs is very fine and feathery, and attracts weeds and sticks. He really dislikes being brushed, but he would be a tangled mess if we didn’t attend to him. Here he is sitting on the bench in the front looking for bunnies in the garden. He is a rather pretty boy by Cesky standards. It takes a lot to maintain that beauty.

Husband always wanted to grow his hair long when he was in college in the early 70’s but his hair is so curly he could only get it a little above his shoulders before he started looking like Bozo the Clown. My boy cousins in Pipestone were mortified that their dad insisted they keep getting crew cuts when everyone else had longer hair and bangs. Uncle Harvey thought that a crew cut was all a boy needed to look good. I had the standard long, straight hair popular in the 70’s. My mother had a wash and set every week at the beauty parlor. I read the other day that a North Dakota man holds the record for the world’s longest beard, at 17.5 feet. Oh, the things we do for looks!

Who did you want to look like when you were a teenager? When have you been the happiest with your hair?

2023, animals, Farming Update, Music, pets, Uncategorized, Weather

Lost And Found

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Today’s Farming Update comes from Ben.

It was hot. How hot was it? It was so hot Wednesday, I stayed at the college until 8:30 PM. The air conditioning units for the Theatre were recently repaired, so except for the fact there is no thermostat, (it’s either on or off), at least there’s air conditioning here as opposed to home where there’s only fans. Well, there’s not AC in the shop at the college, but I open the doors to the stage and turn on some fans and it’s very comfortable.

The chickens hang out under some bushes or somewhere in the shade from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. You can tell they’re hot when they lift their wings a bit. I’ve had their fan running all summer and the back door open for more ventilation the past week.

The cattle hang out in the shade too. By evening, everyone is moving again and having a drink.

Humphrey is really in a conundrum; he wants to be with us, but it’s cooler outside than inside. Decisions, decisions.

Back this spring as I was getting machinery ready for planting, I used my favorite wrench in one of the tractors, and I kind of remember setting it above the steering wheel and telling myself, “Don’t put that there“ and then, of course I couldn’t find it again all summer. I was delighted to find it in the toolbox of that same tractor recently. Putting a wrench in the toolbox? That was pretty good thinking at some point.



Has anyone else noticed all the dragonflies around lately? They were swarming all around the yard earlier this week and out in the fields. And my brother commented on seeing them at his place. I did some reading and they peak in July and August, they sure are fun to watch. And all the barn swallows are sweeping around; there’s a couple nests here that are working on the third batch of babies. That’s really impressive and these poor kids are hardly gonna learn to fly before they head south.

Was up to John Deere last week getting some parts and there is a new parts lady behind the counter. It was interesting that while she was still learning the system, and she didn’t know some common parts like a cotter pin, she seemed to know a lot of the customers and they would call her by name, and someone made a comment about her staying in the industry. Later, as we were trying to find some of my parts, (they were right here, and then they were put somewhere by somebody who wasn’t there now, and nobody else knew where they were) she and I had some time to talk. She ran the auto parts store in Plainview with her dad for 20 years.  So, she kind of knew the business, just not this particular system, and some of these parts. I don’t recall, in all the years I’ve farmed, I’ve ever seen a woman behind any of the parts counters that I frequent. There was a female in a welding place several years ago, and she knew what she was doing. And I know this lady will figure it out too. Even the guys, when they start, they don’t know much. It takes a long time to get into the swing of things.

I’ve been listening to a jazz station a lot lately. I have a membership to Jazz Radio and primarily I listen to modern big band, but lately I’ve done Latin jazz too. It’s a fun change. I’ve learned that I don’t like hearing the same music over and over. And while that rarely happens on Radio Heartland, it happens even less frequently on Latin jazz. I get some Maynard Ferguson on the modern big band station and I like that.

Last week at faculty duty day at the college, I saw this shirt and it made me laugh. I hope you get the joke.

That momma hen still has 13 chicks. She’s a good momma and she’s smart. There’s been a hawk trying to grab the chicks. Bailey actually chased it away a few times. We made a straw bale shelter for them to hide under, but she figured it out on her own and moved them down to the trees and taller grass during the day, and at night takes them back into the pen. I take corn down to them. Keep your fingers crossed.

One night Kelly and I burned up a bunch of brush we had accumulated. A bonfire on the second hottest day of the year? Why not.

GOT A LUCKY NUMBER?

EVER WON A LOTTERY?

2023, animals, Farming Update, Nature, pets, Uncategorized, Weather, work

Top Of The Hill

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Today’s Farm Report comes from Ben.

Finished baling straw this week. Terrible yields there too. Got 320 small square bales total, and it should have been 1000 bales off 20 acres.

It is what it is. Everything worked well and it’s nice straw. Kelly and I unloaded one load, I’ve go the last 100 bales stacked in a wagon for the strawberry farm that buys it, and there’s one load in the shed yet that we’ll get unloaded next week.

I am going to plant a cover crop this year on the oat ground. With the hail we had, there should be plenty of oats there to germinate and re-seed, but rye actually produces deeper roots and is a good cool season crop, so there should be a good winter cover. the same program that was paying for oats this year (separate from the ‘food grade’ oats program) is paying for cover crops. It’s funded by the USDA.

Every time i take my boots off this year, I’m leaving a trail of oats or straw chaff in my wake. Occupational hazard, i guess. I’ve got a cordless Dewalt vacuum in the mudroom specifically for this reason.

Walking on stacked bales is a bit of a challenge. It’s better when they’re stacked proper and tight, but that doesn’t always happen and I was curious how it would go for me and my new knee. And it went pretty well!

I was probably 16 or 17 when Dad announced his sore feet wouldn’t allow him to walk on the bales anymore and I was given the important job of stacking hay bales in the barn. Anyone can unload the bales and put them on the elevator, but stacking, that’s special and takes some skill. Right Clyde? (Or did you only handle loose hay?)

Basically, when stacking, you alternate the direction of the row, and you get the bale in place, then give it a good shove with your knees. Repeat several hundred times. Course, maybe you’re working 3 or 4 rows high in a corner and depending how much room there is as the bales come off the elevator into the hay loft, depends how fast you need to keep moving. All this to say, it was a big deal when Dad had me take over stacking. Just as big of deal it was last year when I wasn’t able to stack myself and my brother did it. The bales got in there, but walking over them the rest of the fall, winter, and this summer reminded me of the skills he missed out on over the years.

The one day last week, just as they finished combining oats, and it rained pretty hard and I had run up the road with the gator to open the truck tarp so the combine could dump the last of the oats. The dogs came running up with me and neither one of them likes the rain. They scrambled into the gator, and they sat in there for 20 minutes after we got home while I was out doing other stuff.

The young guineas are out and learning their ways. Festus, the guinea with the bad leg seems to have disappeared. We knew he’d have a tough time of it and we don’t know what became of him.

Here was a big ragweed plant growing out of the side of the silo, about 8’ in the air. ‘Was’ because I plucked it right after taking this photo.

The first few days at the college have been rough this year. Something about a ‘licensing issue’ means I don’t have access to Outlook, Word, Excel, or any of those Microsoft programs. Plus it seems like my computer – heck, none of the computers, want much to do with me. It’s been a rough few days.

MOTIVATIONAL POSTERS. DO THEY WORK FOR YOU? SEEN ANY GOOD ONES?

home, Mysteries, pets, Seasons

The Single Life….

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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?

2023, animals, home, Mysteries, pets

Doggy Dilemma

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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.

When have your pets trained you?

2023, Food, gardening, Nature, pets

Tomato Time!

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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.

Tell me about your favorite summer produce!

2023, animals, Business, Family, Farming Update, Nature, pets, Seasons

Waiting

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The weekend Farm Report comes to us from Ben.

Well, still hot, still no rain. Still, we wait.

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?